Sasuke's Daughter
by NaruLexigirl
Summary: Based on the actual Naruto storyline. Sasuke's "daughter" comes back from the future to save her mom. She lands too far in the past however and starts out in the beginning of the Naruto storyline. Follow her through the timeline! Sasu?
1. Sasuke's Daughter?

**A/N: **I don't own Naruto! (Can this go for all chapters? I hope so.) This is Sasuke x ? You won't find out the pairing until later!

* * *

Time warped around her and a girl fell to the ground, barely catching herself. She looked up through her black hair quickly to see if anyone saw her and was relieved when nobody was close enough to notice the flux. She wiped her hair out of her face and flipped into a tree behind her, searching for a specific chakra. Her senses picked out the one she was searching for and she turned, dashing off.

* * *

Sasuke walked home from ninja school in the afternoon planning on making a quick dinner before going to train. His graduation test was coming up in a couple days and he needed all the training he could get with some ninjutsu. He scoffed lightly and brushed his long bangs back. What was he thinking? He didn't need the training, but a little never hurt. Nothing else to do, right?

Sasuke sensed a quickly approaching presence and he turned just in time for someone to slam right into him. He and the stranger fell with a cry to the ground, tumbling over each other down the hill. They came to a rest at the bottom, groaning. Sasuke shook his head and sat up, glaring as the other person did the same. Sasuke felt his breath hitch slightly.

It was a girl. She had midnight black hair and pale skin not unlike his own. Sasuke, in a moment of stupidity, thought for a second that they might be related, until he saw her eyes. They were purple. Her outfit consisted of a purple tank over a fishnet shirt and black cargo pants.

The girl scowled and yelled, "Nice going, asshole! You shouldn't get in people's way like that!" She glared at the ground and rubbed her head angrily.

"You're the one who ran into me." Sasuke growled back. "You need to watch where you're going." The girl looked up and blinked in surprise.

"Oh!" She grinned. "I was looking for you!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and the two climbed to their feet. "I'm glad I found you! You're Sasuke Uchiha, right?"

Sasuke nodded warily. "Do I know you?"

"No, but you will." She suddenly turned completely serious. "Listen, you probably won't believe me, but you're my dad." Sasuke stared and shook his head. This girl was cracked.

"You've got the wrong person. I don't have children and besides," He gave her an 'obvious' look. "You're only my age." It was true. The girl looked to be about twelve or thirteen.

"No seriously!" The girl said. "Look, my name is Arai Uchiha. I came back from the future to get a medicine to save my mom." Sasuke didn't believe her. First of all, a time-traveling jutsu? This girl came back from the past just to get medicine? He told her so.

She shook her head. "I'm not joking. I'm from eighteen years in the future. I stole a forbidden scroll so that I could find a medicine here in the past that's not available in the future so that I can help my mom from dying."

"And you expect me to believe this?" Sasuke asked. "How can you even prove any bit of this true?"

She sighed and thought. "Okay I'll tell you some details about your life. You were born July 23 into a family of three at the time. Your older brother Itachi killed off your clan and now you're seeking revenge." Sasuke scowled at the thought of his brother.

"Everyone of my fangirls knows this." He objected.

"But how about this?" Arai asked, an eyebrow raised mischievously. "Before Itachi left he told you to look under a mat in your house and you discovered the secret of the Uchiha Clan."

Sasuke eyes widened in surprise. Nobody knew this fact. "How do you know this?"

"You told me so yourself." She said. "Do you believe me now?"

He nodded once. "What do you want from me?"

She turned sheepish and rubbed her head. "Actually I need a place to stay since I accidentally over-shot it." Sasuke raised an eyebrow, not understanding. "I was meant to arrive a couple months into the future, but I arrived too soon."

Sasuke sighed in annoyance. "So you want to stay at my house?"

"Yeah." Sasuke was still suspicious. This girl, claiming to be his daughter, wanted to stay at his house because she's from the future? It didn't make sense, but right now he decided he would.

Sasuke nodded and begin walking towards his house. Arai smiled. Sasuke watched her though. He was going to keep an eye on her.

When they arrived at his house, Arai stretched. "Wow, you redecorated before I was born. It's like a bachelor pad."

Sasuke walked in behind her and walked upstairs. "I live by myself." He stated. Then he paused before turning. "If you're my daughter, then who's your mom?"

Arai straightened and walked upstairs past him, opening a door across from Sasuke's room. "You can't know." She walked inside the room.

Sasuke followed her in. "Why no-" He cut off however as he saw the girl, passed out cold on the guest bed. He frowned and left the room, closing the door. 'How did she know that there was a guest bedroom there?'

* * *

Sasuke woke up early in the morning feeling strange. What was up with his dream? A daughter from the future? What the hell? He shook his head. The things his mind comes up with.

He climbed out of bed and dressed quickly. He wanted to get a little extra ninjutsu training in before school started. He left without breakfast, but not without pausing next to the guestroom door. Should he...? No. It was just a dream. He turned and ran out the door, concentrating on his practicing.

He came back an hour later and took a shower before heading downstairs to eat. He had a few minutes of spare time. Sasuke walked back upstairs to grab his arm warmers too before he forgot. Again he remembered his dream and stopped next to the guestroom door. Just one peek wouldn't hurt, right?

He opened the door. Inside he saw a figure sleeping on the bed. This surprised him. The dream wasn't a dream? Then his daughter really was here? Sasuke walked inside and shook Arai. She groaned and rolled over, throwing an arm over her eyes.

"Five more minutes dad..." She murmured. Sasuke frowned and shook her again.

"I'm going to school. What are you going to be doing in my house all day?" Yeah he still didn't trust her at all. Then again, who would trust a seemingly deluded stranger in their house?

She removed her arm and blinked sleepy blue eyes at him. "Sleep. I used up too much chakra getting here. I'll probably be out all day. Perhaps tomorrow too." She rolled over again and threw the covers over her head. "So don't disturb me anymore. Night. Have fun at school."

Sasuke grunted and left. Great.

* * *

School was uneventful. Yes they did have their graduation test today, but it was simple doppelgangers. Sasuke hated how easy it was. He wanted a challenge, something to actually look forward to. The only thing that was slightly exciting was that Naruto failed the test and even then that wasn't much.

Sasuke walked home thinking of what he should do for the rest of his time while staring at his newly acquired hitai-ate. "Sasuke!" He paused with an inward sigh. He recognized that voice.

Sakura ran up and smiled flirtily. "Sasuke you passed too!" Sasuke nodded with a roll of his eyes. Of course he did. "Do you perhaps want to go out to celebrate?" She gazed at him hopefully.

"No thanks." Sasuke drawled and walked away. He wasn't looking for any kind of relationship right now. Sakura pouted and left, crestfallen.

Sasuke arrived home to find Arai passed out on the couch. Sasuke figured she must've come down at some point in time to eat. He scowled and stalked over to the couch.

He kicked it. "Up. You can't sleep on the couch."

Arai scowled and glared at him angrily. "What the hell! I told you not to fucking wake me up!" Obviously she wasn't a morning person either. Definitely an Uchiha.

Sasuke ignored the glare. "I use my couch and I won't have you sleeping on it. If you're going to stay here, then learn the rules."

She climbed up off the couch lazily. "I know the freaking rules. I thought I could get away with it now that I'm in the past but apparently you're just a bastard like mom said you were." She turned and went upstairs, but then paused, noticing Sasuke's headband.

"Oh you passed the graduation exam?" She asked.

"Yeah." Sasuke nodded. "It was too simple." He grumbled under his breath.

"Good for you." She congratulated and continued upstairs. There was the sound of the door closing and a small thump before you could hear nothing. Sasuke shook his head.

* * *

The next morning Sasuke woke to soft thumps downstairs. He got up and found Arai cooking breakfast. She noticed him and smiled. "Morning! Hungry?" She put a plate of toast and eggs down on the table.

Sasuke sat down slowly and took a small bite of the eggs as Arai sat down with her own made plate. He was slightly surprised. "These taste exactly like my eggs."

Arai grinned. "Of course. You taught me how to make them since mom absolutely sucks at anything relating to the kitchen. You don't let mom in the kitchen anymore." She laughed.

Sasuke grunted. "So I take it your chakra's back?" She flexed her hand.

"Not completely. I would like another day of rest but I've got something I need to do today." Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question so Arai shook her head. "You'll see." They finished breakfast in silence and got up. Sasuke got dressed upstairs and put on his headband before meeting Arai downstairs.

She grinned and tapped on his forehead protector. "Good luck. You'll be finding out your teams today."

"Teams?" Sasuke asked but Arai had already jumped on the roof and was off. Sasuke sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Sasuke sat in the classroom with an irritated Naruto and Sakura. He didn't blame them because he was angry too. What was taking their damn teacher so long? Naruto kept looking out the door.

"Cut it out Naruto!" Sakura said, sitting on the desk near Sasuke.

Naruto glanced back at them. "Why are we the only cell who's teacher hasn't shown up yet?!" Naruto complained. "All the other teams have already gone off with their teachers. Even Master Iruka gone!" He ran over and grabbed a chair and a chalkboard eraser.

"Hey what are you up to, Naruto!" Sakura said as he climbed onto the chair. Sasuke glanced over at them. Naruto laughed as he placed the eraser between the sliding doors and hopped off.

"It's what he gets for making us wait!"

"Grow up!" Sakura said with her hands on her hips. "I want no part of it!"

Sasuke scoffed. "No way could a superior shinobi get caught in such a simple booby trap!"

* * *

Arai walked down the ninja school hallway with a man by her side. "So you're sure you want to risk getting involved with the team?" The man asked.

"Of course!" Arai said, hands in her pocket. "I've got nothing better to do."

Kakashi 'hmphed' and opened the sliding door to where his team was awaiting him.

* * *

The three students watched as the door opened wider and a man popped his head in, his face covered with a mask and his left eye covered by his headband. The chalkboard eraser fell with a plop on his already silver hair.

Naruto laughed. "Gotcha! Good one!"

Sakura looked worried. "I'm sorry sensei. I tried to stop him but Naruto..."

Sasuke glared slightly at his sensei. 'So...this is our elite shinobi leader? He looks completely worthless!' Then he noticed with slight surprise that Arai stood behind him.

The man put a hand on his chin and looked up with what Sasuke guessed was a smile. "Hmmm...how should I put this? Based on my first impression I'd have to say...I hate you!" Everyone sweat-dropped as the temperature fell a few degrees.

* * *

Kakashi and Arai sat on the railing on top of the school facing towards Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto who sat on the steps. Sasuke and Sakura were obviously curious (Sasuke mostly about Arai) and Naruto appeared to be half drooling over the hot girl in front of him.

"Now I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves." Kakashi said.

"Whoa whoa wait!" Naruto said, pointing at Arai. "Why is she here? I thought they were three man cells?"

Sakura nodded. "I was wondering that too, sensei." Kakashi glanced at Arai, awaiting her answer.

"I'm going to be a student teacher." She said. "I graduated early at a very high level so they're trying something new. Anyway let's move on."

"Yes we have to give introductions first." Kakashi agreed.

"Like what?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi shrugged. "You know, the usual. Your favorite thing...what you hate most...dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."

"Help us out here, coach. You go first. Show us how it's done." Naruto said.

"That's right...After all you two are complete strangers to us...a mystery." Sakura agreed.

'Not to Sasuke.' Arai thought, amused as Kakashi spoke.

"Oh......me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes or dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business and anyway I have a lot of hobbies..." He trailed off as Arai tried to stiffle a snicker.

"Hey..." Sakura whispered to her teammates. "He said a lot but all we really learned was his name."

"Your turn." Kakashi said to Arai. All three students focused immediately on her.

"Me? Okay well my name is Uchiha Arai. My likes include my friends and family. Oh and ramen too. I dislike a lot of stuff so there's no need to get into that. My dreams for the future are to be stronger than both of my parents and my hobbies include training and taking walks with my parents." She said and looked up at the sky, her eyes growing distant.

"How is it possible you're an Uchiha?" Sakura asked, suspicious. "Sasuke-kun's the only survivor." Arai grinned and looked at her.

"My ancestors were Uchihas." She said bluntly.

"Now it's your turn." Kakashi said. "Starting with you on the right." He motioned to Naruto.

"Me, right?! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Master Iruka treats me to ramen at Ichiraku noodle bar!!" Kakashi was sweat-dropping by now. "What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water."

Arai sighed. 'Dad's right. Naruto ALWAYS has ramen on his mind...'

"My dream is to one day be a better shinobi than Lord Hokage! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!" Kakashi and Arai smiled lightly.

'Naruto...' Arai thought.

"My hobbies are pranks and practical jokes, I guess." Naruto finished.

Kakashi scratched his head. "Next!"

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see why it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like." Arai sweat-dropped.

'Jeez dad...' She thought.

"It seems pointless to talk about 'dreams' ...that's just a word...but what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan..." 'Which I do.' Sasuke thought. "and there's someone I have sworn to kill." Naruto looked nervously at Sasuke while Sakura looked star-struck.

"And finally...the young lady..." Kakashi said, getting them back on track.

"I am Haruno Sakura. My favorite thing is...well it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy...and that boy is..." Her blush grew more pronounced with each word Sakura said.

Arai sweat-dropped. 'And dad's also right about Sakura swooning over him when they were younger.'

"I hate...Naruto!" Sakura continued. Naruto looked horrified. "My hobbies are..." Arai decided it best to ignore the rest.

"Enough." Arai finally said, standing. "Formal training begins tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am! What will our duties be?! Our first real shinobi mission!" Naruto shouted, excited.

"Our first project involves only the members of this cell." Kakashi said.

"What is it? What?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Survival excercises." He said.

"Survival excercises?" Naruto asked, confused.

"But why would that be a mission?" Sakura asked. "Our school days were full of survival training!"

"But you'll have to survive...against us!" Arai explained. "It won't be your typical practice." Sasuke smirked, gazing at Arai. He had been hoping to fight her.

"Well then what kind of practice will it be?" Naruto asked. Kakashi chuckled.

"What are you laughing about, Master Kakashi?" Sakura grumbled.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that if I told you, you'd chicken out." He said, entertained.

"Chicken out...? Why?!" Naruto demanded.

"Do you want to do the honors?" Kakashi asked Arai. She grinned.

"Sure!" Then she turned to the group, serious. "Of the twenty-seven members of your graduating class, only nine will actually be accepted as genin. The other eighteen must go back for more training."

"The test we are about to perform has a 66% rate of failure." Kakashi added. Sakura and Naruto gulped. Kakashi and Arai laughed. "See? You're chickening out already!" Kakashi said.

"That sucks!!!" Naruto yelled. "We have been through it ALL! What about the graduation test?!"

"Oh! We wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only students who show true potential."

"SAY WHAT?!?!" Naruto screamed.

"Anyway," Arai said. "we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all your ninja tools and weapons. And don't have breakfast." She added.

"Why?" Sakura asked, scared slightly as Kakashi passed out the information.

"Oh because you'll throw up." Sakura immediately started to complain. "Memorize this sheet and don't be late!" Kakashi said.

Sakura and Naruto both studied it while Sasuke instead crumpled it up. "You all can leave." Arai said and Kakashi left as she walked over to the group.

"Student teacher?" Sakura asked. "How come you get it?"

"Because I'm stronger than any of you that's why." Arai said. "Come on, Sasuke." Sasuke followed as Sakura glared. 'Does she like Sasuke-kun too?' She thought, enviously. Arai grinned. Tomorrow will be fun.

* * *

Sasuke woke up to find Arai outside tossing kunai at a practice log. He frowned at how accurate she was. He also disliked the fact that she was supposedly his "student-sensei".

Arai looked up, sweat pouring down her face due to the early morning humidity and noticed Sasuke. She smiled. "Morning!" She pulled her kunai out of the log and placed them back in her leg holster. "Ready to go?"

Sasuke shifted his backpack and nodded. The twosome headed off towards the training field. Arai hummed to herself. Sasuke glanced at her, finally deciding to break the silence. "How did you get Kakashi to let you be a student-mentor?"

She shrugged. "I told Lord Hokage and Kakashi my story, had a quick fight with Kakashi to test my skill, then they agreed." She glanced at him. "But don't expect me to do anything. I'm not really a student-mentor. I'm only posing as one so that Naruto and Sakura won't get suspicious." Sasuke nodded.

'She's just lazy...' He thought. They arrived at the site and Sakura looked up with a grin.

"Sasuke-kun! Good morning!" Sasuke grunted and walked over to stand next to his teammates.

"Good morning Arai-sensei!" Naruto said cheerfully.

Arai smiled. "Don't call me Arai-sensei please. Just Arai or Arai-chan will suffice."

"Okay Arai-chan!" Naruto said then looked around. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Arai shrugged.

"Somewhere, I guess." She sat underneath of a tree and closed her eyes.

* * *

Half and hour later....  
"Good morning, class!" Kakashi said happily, waving.

"YOU'RE LATE!!!!" Sakura and Naruto accused while Sasuke glared..

"Maa, so loud guys...." Arai mumbled and glared slightly at everyone. She was just woken from her dozing.

"No matter." Kakashi said and led them to where three logs stood in the ground. Arai sat on one while he put an alarm clock on another. He pressed the clock. "I've set this alarm to go off at noon." Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto looked up as Kakashi brought out a pair of bells. "I have here two small bells...Your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. And anyone who fails doesn't get any lunch. Instead you will be tired to that tree stump Arai is sitting on."

Everyone's stomach grumbled while Arai grinned at the starved looks her friends were making. "Yeah so that means while you're tied up I get to eat your lunch in front of you!" She said. She got three glares.

"All you need is just one bell apiece. But since there aren't enough to go around, one of you is definitely headed for the stump. And whoever that is will be the first of you to fail. One of you is on your way back to school...and disgrace." Kakashi said seriously. Naruto gulped.

All three had determined looks. "You may if you choose, use shuriken. Attack as though you mean to kill or you won't stand a chance."

"But...but that's so dangerous!" Sakura protested.

"You couldn't even dodge an eraser!! Sorry if I hurt you, Arai-chan!" Naruto taunted, grinning at Arai.

"Oh...I'm not joining in." She said, stretching.

"Whaaat??" he asked as the other two gave disbelieving looks.

"You mean that you're not going to fight us?" Sasuke asked, pissed when she nodded. 'Damn...I wanted to fight her.'

"Arai's right." Kakashi said. "She's here to learn and she'll do that by watching. She'll inform me if she finds you cheating."

"That's lame!" Naruto yelled.

"Only the weak speak loudly Naruto." Kakashi said, sighing. "Now, let's forget the dunce and we'll start on my signal."

Naruto growled and whipped out a kunai, about to attack when suddenly Arai grabbed the hand holding the weapon and swinging his arm around so that the kunai was instead aimed at the back of his head.

"No cheating Naruto." Arai said casually. "He didn't say 'go'."

Sasuke smirked. 'So...this is my daughter, huh? Interesting.'

"At least you struck to kill...so, it seems you've begun to respect me." Kakashi said. He laughed. "Maybe...just maybe...I'm starting to like you three." Arai removed her hand and Naruto lowered his arm. "And now...ready...steady...GO!!!" All five dispersed.

Sasuke his in a three not too far from the clearing Kakashi stood in. "The basis of all shinobi arts is to become invisible...eradicate yourself..." Kakashi was saying. The man looked around, searching for his students. Sasuke studied him, looking for an opening.

Suddenly Naruto appeared. "It's time for the match to begin!" He yelled, grinning. "Let's make it a real match, worthy of the greatest warriors!!"

'That fool...' Sasuke mentally sighed. 'Always doing things the wrong way.'

"I think you may be thinking of the wrong kind of match.' Kakashi mumbled.

Naruto charged. "The only wrong thing here is your hairstyle!" Kakashi glanced at him and sug into his pouch. Naruto froze and skidded to a stop. "Uh-oh!"

"Let me teach you your first ninjutsu skill!! Taijutsu: the art of the trained body!" Kakashi continued to dig and suddenly pulled out a book.

'Make-out Paradise...?' Sasuke thought.

".....? Is something wrong? I thought you were coming for me." Kakashi asked. Naruto stuttered, pointing at the book. "Don't mind the book. I've been dying to find out how this story ends. Carry on...It shouldn't make a difference in the outcome, considering who I'm up against."

Naruto snapped. "I'M GONNA FLATTEN YOU!!!" He attacked from the left, his fist getting blocked by Kakashi's right hand. He struck out with his foot but Kakashi ducked. Naruto again charged but stopped suddenly when his teacher disappeared.

Kakashi reappeared behind him, his hands together with two fingers on each hand sticking up. "Showing your back so many times is very poor ninjutsu...dunce."

'Impossible...now he's making the sign of the flames. That damned teacher wasn't just running around...' Sasuke thought incredulously.

"Naruto~~!!! Get out of there! You'll be killed!" Sasuke heard Sakura yell from somewhere. Suddenly Kakashi slammed his fingers into Naruto's butt, sending him flying.

"Konohagakure village's most secret and sacred technique!!! One thousand years of death!!"

Sasuke sweat-dropped. "...Huh! So they're both buffoons!" Naruto fell into the river. Suddenly two kunai flew from the water, flying at their sensei. Kakashi mearly laughed and caught them on his fingers.

Naruto came out of the water, coughing. "Well? What's the hold up? Get one of these bells before lunch or you'll have none!" The sensei taunted.

Sasuke's stomach growled again. 'Ugh...Why didn't Arai warn me?' Eight more Narutos jumped out of the river, startling him out of his thoughts. 'One...two...three...eight distinct bodies!! ...What technique is he using?'

* * *

(**A/N: **Sorry I'm extremely lazy. You know what happens.)

Arai watched, entertained with everything going on. First Naruto getting caught in TWO rope traps (the same one, might she add), Sakura getting tricked with genjutsu, and then her own father getting shown up with the groundhog technique decapitation. Then Sakura happened to show up just in the nick of time to faint at seeing 'her' Sasuke-kun's head 'cut off'

Arai suddenly sensed Naruto's chakra had stopped moving in the direction of where the lunch was. "I've got it, Kakashi." She said with a grin.

"Alright then." Kakashi turned and left to continued messing with his students. Arai ran quickly to the destination of where Naruto was near a grave.

* * *

"Even if I can't take those bells fair and square...I can deal with it. I'll just hang out here and eat everybody's lunch!" Naruto said as he sat, gazing at the lunches.

"Oh really?" Arai asked, landing on top of the grave stone.

"Uhhh...Just kidding!" Naruto said, sweating.

"Too late." She grabbed him dragged him back to the logs kicking and screaming.

* * *

"Hey...." Sasuke said, sitting next to the fainted Sakura. She awoke slowly.

"Sasuke!" She said when she saw him. Sakura hugged him tightly. "You're alive!!"

"Yeah...Fine...Okay...You can let go now!" He said and pushed her off, standing up. "Time's running out. It's almost noon. I'm off."

"Sasuke- do you honestly believe you can get one of those bells?" Sakura asked.

"I got close enough to touch them...This time I'll take them."

"What?!" She exclaimed. "Really! Wow...You're so amazing. Uh...I mean there's no more time and....even if we couldn't mangae it this time...I'm sure next time if we give it our all..." Sasuke glared at her and she cut off with a gulp.

Sasuke turned to walk away. "Only I can kill him." Sasuke murmured.

"Who?" Sakura asked, surprised. "You mean... Master Kakashi?!"

"He made me...cry..." Sasuke's thoughts were in the past.

"You cried...?"

"My..."

"What...What are you talking about...?" Sakura seemed to realize Sasuke wasn't talking about now.

"My only goal is to have my revenge. I have to become stronger than he is...now." Sasuke said, forming a fist. The alarm clock ringing startled him out of his thoughts. "Oh...Crap! I should of saved my breath."

Sakura and Sasuke arrived back the logs ten minutes later to find Naruto tied up with Kakashi and Arai standing there. Arai was grinning.

"Thanks for the show guys!" She said. They glared as their stomachs growled.

"Oh, my. Listen to all the little stomachs growl!" Kakashi said. "I have an announcement about this excercise. None of you need to worry about being sent back to the ninja academy."

"Yeeah!!!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke 'hmm'ed. Sakura and Naruto began to celebrate as Kakashi smiled. "This rocks! It means all three of us..."

"...are hopeless." Kakashi interrupted. "More schooling would be pointless. Based on what Arai and I have seen none of you will ever be shinobi!!!"

"What do you mean give up?!" Naruto yelled, struggling against his bonds. Sasuke scowled while Sakura stood in shock.

"Because not one of you has what it takes!" Arai said, folding her arms. Sasuke had enough. Kakashi was one thing but his own daughter telling him he's a failure?! Hell no!

He charged. "Sasuke!!" Sakura yelled. Arai kicked him away effortlessly and Kakashi grabbed him, knocking him onto his stomach with Sasuke's hand bent behind his back.

"What you are is a trio of spoiled brats..." Kakashi said. Sasuke glared heavily.

"Don't step on Sasuke! Get off of him!!" Sakura yelled.

Arai scowled and glared, tossing a kunai so that it barely missed Sakura's face and implanting itself in the log beside Naruto's face. "Are you TRYING to make fun of shinobi with your behavior?" She demanded. "Well? Are you?" They stared at her. She sighed in frustration. "Did you ever stop to wonder for one moment why you're in TEAMS?"

"Uhh...excuse me?" Sakura asked as Naruto raised an eyebrow.

A gust of wind blew. "...I don't believe this." Kakashi said.

"Aw, come on, already! Tell us!!!"

"It's TEAMWORK." Kakashi said. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto's eyes all widened with that realization. "If the three of you had came at me...together...you might have been able to take the bells.

"But wait! If we were expected to function as a team, why did you only have two bells? You're playing us against each other!" Sakura yelled.

"Of course. This task was designed to cause dissention in your ranks." Kakashi said. "You were supposed to put aside your interests and work together. Instead though, you Sakura ignored Naruto to focus on Sasuke though you didn't know where he was..."

"Naruto tried to do the work of three all on his own..." Arai said and sat down, pointing at Sasuke. "And Sasuke here decided to screw you all and play solo." Sasuke scowled again.

"You are a team!" Kakashi said. "Learn to act as one!" He got up. "I'm giving you one last chance. Eat but don't share with Naruto because he tried to cheat. My word is law." Arai turned with Kakashi and the two disappeared.

* * *

Kakashi and Arai stood nearby with their backs against a tree. "That was a little mean, don't you think?" Arai asked.

"Naruto cheated so…" Kakashi shrugged then he glanced at her. "You seemed to know exactly what I was going to say."

"My father told me many stories of his time with you guys." Arai said simply, smiling lightly as he saw her dad try to share his food with Naruto.

"And your mother?" Kakashi questioned with a knowing tone. Arai raised an eyebrow.

"What about my mom?" Kakashi shook his head and disappeared. 'Does he know...?' She thought.

* * *

Suddenly a huge explosion appeared in front of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"What the hell?!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi (looking quite evil) came out of the smoke. "You…" Naruto and Sakura yelled as Sasuke tensed, ready to fight. "…pass!" Kakashi said lovingly. He winked.

They stared in surprise. "We pass?!" Sakura asked. "But why?!"

"You three have just taken a giant step forward."

"Umm…How?"

"Up until now, all any of you have done is listen unquestioningly to everything I say like mindless little drones." Kakashi explained.

"A true shinobi," Arai said, coming up behind them. "seeks for the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings. In a ninja's world, those who violate the rule and fail to follow orders are lower than garbage."

"However…those who don't care and support their fellows are even lower than that!" Kakashi finished.

"Oh!" Sakura said, smiling. Sasuke smiled lightly as he thought it over. It made sense.

"This exercise is now concluded! You all pass!" Arai said, grinning. "That's all for today, team seven. Your duties will commence tomorrow!!!"

"I…I did it! I did it! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Naruto cheered.

"Let's go home." Kakashi said as Sakura and Sasuke headed back with him. Arai smiled and began to follow when she heard Naruto yell,

"Uh..Hey, guys? I'm still tied up here!" She turned and pulled out a kunai, cutting him loose.

"Congrats, Naruto." She said.

"Thanks." He rubbed his arms and beamed at her. "Do you want to go on a date, Arai-chan?"

Arai blushed and turned away to where Sasuke (and Sakura because of him) were standing, waiting. "Er…no. Don't you like Sakura?"

Naruto pouted. "Yeah…but I like you too." Arai bit her lip.

"Well sorry. I like older guys." She turned and smiled at him. "And you're a _little_ too short for me." Naruto's cheeks puffed out in anger. He was about an inch shorter than her. She turned and joined Sasuke. "Come on, Sasuke. Let's head home."

"Home?!" Naruto and Sakura yelled, but the Uchihas ignored them.

* * *

**A/N:** So what do you think? It's an idea I wanted to do for a bit. I'm basically keeping it the same storyline as Naruto's, but I'm adding Arai into it. Sorry if you don't like OCs but she's not going to change much anything. R&R!!


	2. Father Daughter Bonding

Arai sat in her bed about a week later staring at a picture. It was a picture of her dad and Naruto. Sasuke's head was covered in cotton candy. It was a quick snap-shot that she had taken at a festival while with her parents. She remembered that day.

She laughed lightly and put it down, bringing out another picture. It was a picture of her mom, dad, and her. She smiled and felt tears fill her eyes as she remembered why she was there. She was determined to help her mom, but she missed her parents so much.

A knock on the door disturbed her thoughts and she quickly stuffed the picture away. Sasuke poked his head in and was surprised to see tears on Arai's face. He grew awkward. "Are you...okay?"

She wiped her face and smiled. "Yeah, of course! I was just..." she trailed off. Sasuke opened the door wider and sat down on her bed, picking up the picture of the festival.

"Is this...me and Naruto?" He asked, examining it.

"Yeah." Arai sat down next to him. "Are you surprised? You and Naruto are really close friends in the future."

Sasuke frowned. "Is that cotton candy on my head?" Arai nodded and he scowled. "Are you sure we're friends?" In the picture Sasuke looked shocked and pissed.

"Yeah I'm sure. If it makes you feel any better, you chased him around the whole village and gave him a thorough beating for it." She grinned as she saw Sasuke smile a bit.

He turned to her. "I guess this proves you're from the future, huh?"

She looked at him, surprised. "You didn't believe me before?" He gave her a dry look and she laughed. "Okay, okay. I get it. Yeah, I guess it does, huh?"

"What's the future like?" Sasuke asked.

"Not much different." Arai shrugged. "Not much has changed really, from what I've seen around here." Sasuke grunted.

There was a comfortable silence between them before Sasuke asked, "Do you have another picture?"

"I have a couple." Arai dug through her backpack.

"One of your mother?" Sasuke asked casually, trying to trick her.

She gave him a dry look (quite similar to Sasuke's) "Nice try, but I'm not letting you see my mom."

"Why?" He asked, frustrated.

She sighed. "Don't you get it? If I let you see my mom then I might not exist in the future." He raised an eyebrow. "Who do you like now?" She asked.

He frowned. "Nobody."

"Exactly and if I told you who my mom was, you'll want to get closer to my mom. This could alter the history that conspires between you two and you may not actually get together, thus destroying my timeline." She explained.

"What if I didn't go after her?" Sasuke suggested.

"Even if you didn't, you'll know who it is and it'll still alter the timeline." Sasuke frowned, not really liking her excuse. Arai gave an exasperated huff. "Ever heard of the 'Butterfly Effect'?"

"No."

"It's supposed that if you kill a butterfly in the past it will drastically change the future. Well let's just say that every little detail is a butterfly floating around me and who my mom is...well that's a giant butterfly." She said.

Sasuke nodded in understanding, though he still didn't like it. "Fine. Just tell me all the other gigantic butterflies that you need to avoid."

Arai bit her lip and thought. "Hmmm...Well there's a lot...but I can't tell you without giving something away." She shrugged helplessly.

Now Sasuke sighed. "So is there a picture I CAN see?"

"Yeah, hang on." She dug through her backpack and brought out another picture. Sasuke took it and examined it. It was a picture of team seven, only they all looked older.

"How old are we here?" Sasuke asked.

She thought. "Umm...You're twenty, and Naruto and Sakura are nineteen. Kakashi's about thirty-four."

Sasuke 'hmph'ed. "I look happy."

"Did you think you wouldn't?"

"No..." Sasuke said. "I'm just...beaming is all."

"Oh!" Arai grinned. "That's because you and mom were already married." Her eyes softened. "From what you've told me, mom changed you a lot."

He glanced at her. "I've been meaning to ask...Do I ever get my revenge against Itachi?"

Her face darkened. "Giant butterfly." She warned. He scowled and accepted it, but was confused by the look she was giving him.

"What?"

"Nothing." She whispered. "We just don't talk about Uncle Itachi that much..." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the 'uncle' part."

"Reasonable." Sasuke agreed. "I wouldn't want to talk about Itachi anyway." Arai didn't say anything. He looked back at the picture and smiled. "Where were you at for this picture?"

She scoffed. "I was only about two years old, Sasuke."

"So we have you at around eighteen?" He asked. She nodded. "That seems pretty young." Sasuke said, mostly to himself.

"I was a...surprise you could say. Mom planned it, but you didn't expect it." She blushed lightly and looked away.

"How did I react?"

"...Happy, I guess? I never really asked." She shrugged.

He looked at her. "You said you fought with Kakashi to see what level you're at. What did they decide?"

She grinned proudly. "Jounin."

He was surprised. "And you're how old?"

"Twelve." She said. "I'm turning thirteen in December."

Sasuke gazed at her fondly. "A true Uchiha genius..."

She blushed in embarrassment. "Dad!" Then she bit her lip. "Sorry...Sasuke." Sasuke ignored it.

"What level are you at in your time?"

She pouted. "I'm still a genin."

"Why?"

"I haven't been able to take the Chunin exam yet so I can't become a Jounin until I do." She flopped back onto her bed. "Stupid rules. I have to do all these freaking D-rank missions..." She continued to grumble to herself.

Sasuke lay down next to her, gazing at the ceiling as she quieted down and began to hum again. The humming was all that filled the room for a long period of time until Arai sat up. "Do you want to go for a walk?" Sasuke glanced at her and nodded. Together they left the room.

* * *

Sakura was getting jealous. Everyday Sasuke completely ignored her request to walk home together after training/missions and instead walked home with Arai. What was going on between those two? Were they dating? If so, then why her? Why not Sakura?

Sakura frowned as she watched Arai and Sasuke talking while Sasuke worked on a garden for their mission. Naruto was standing not too far away, frowning as well. 'Hmm...' Sakura thought. 'Is Naruto perhaps jealous of Sasuke-kun...? Maybe...'

=-=-=-=-=

"So, what am I like in the future?" Sasuke asked, making sure to keep his voice down so that his teammates wouldn't hear.

Arai, leaning against a tree near-by him, shrugged. "Pretty much like you are now, but you talk more." She grinned mischievously at him. "And you're also a better dad."

Sasuke scoffed. "I didn't plan on having a daughter at this age anyway. Sorry if I'm not up to par on my parenting skills." He said sarcastically.

"No need to get testy." She said. She glanced at Naruto, who was glaring at Sasuke. She raised an eyebrow. "What's up with Naruto?"

Sasuke looked at him. Naruto continued to glare. "What do you want, dobe?" He asked.

Naruto scowled and got up. "I challenge you Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. Everyone, including Kakashi, looked at the blonde.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow now. "We're on a mission, baka. We don't have time to spar." Here he turned back and went to digging. Naruto ran over and tackled him, growling. Sasuke scowled and struggled against him. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"You, asshole!" Naruto yelled, and tried to punch him. Kakashi, however, intervened. He grabbed Naruto by the shirt and held him off of Sasuke.

"No Naruto. Stop fighting with Sasuke." He said in a bored tone. Naruto struggled, muttering curses.

Sasuke got off the ground. "Bastard!" Naruto growled and stomped away when Kakashi released him.

Arai sighed and scratched her head. 'What the hell was that about?' She wondered. Sasuke scowled deeply.

"Are you sure Naruto and I are friends?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah." She said. "You two fight often, but somehow you two are really close friends. It's one strange relationship..." She shook her head.

Sasuke frowned but went back to work in silence. Arai disappeared in a poof.

* * *

Arai reappeared next to Kakashi on the roof of the house their team was working at.

"Might I ask what that was?" She asked, gazing at Naruto.

Kakashi grinned under his mask. "Hmm...Is Naruto perhaps jealous?"

"Of me?" Arai asked, surprised.

"I was thinking more of Sasuke." He glanced at her. "I wonder why you automatically think it was of you..."

She glared. "What are you implying? That I think Naruto's gay?" Kakashi just continued staring. "Sorry," She turned away. "but Naruto's not gay."

Kakashi 'hmph'ed. "There went my best guess, but you're the one from the future. So he's jealous of Sasuke. I don't think that's good."

Arai frowned, worried. "It isn't good. Naruto can't have a crush on me."

"Maybe you should pretend to date Sasuke?" The sensei suggested.

Arai blanched. "Ew gross! No way. Plus I can't. Big no-no."

"So your mom likes Sasuke now?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. My mother never told me when the crush started."

Kakashi decided it was time to cut to the chase. "Arai, who exactly IS your mother?" Arai bit her lip, not sure if she should tell. How would it affect the future? She didn't find anything wrong with giving away this information so she gave in.

"My mother's name is-"

A scream pierced the air and both ninjas turned to where it came from. Sakura was on the ground, passed out. They jumped down as Sasuke and Naruto rushed over.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, lifting her head. "Wake up, Sakura!"

"What happened?" Kakashi demanded.

"I don't know." Sasuke said, looking around. "I didn't sense anything wrong..."

Arai leaned down and placed a hand over Arai's head. Her hand began to glow with blue chakra as she closed her eyes. All three males blinked in surprise.

"What are you doing, Arai-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Medical ninjutsu." She removed her hand. "She's fine. I wonder what happened...?"

Just then Sakura woke up. "Uhh..." She moaned.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked.

"I...I saw a giant bug!" Sakura said, horrified. Everyone sweat-dropped.

"Sakura that wasn't any reason to-" Sasuke was cut off however as Sakura screamed again and pointed behind them. They turned to look and their eyes widened in horror.

There, standing right next to them, was a ten foot black beetle. "That's the thing!" The lady of the household said. "That's the thing that keeps destroying my garden! Kill it!"

Everyone jumped out of the way as the thing crawled toward them. "It's...HUGE!!" Naruto yelled.

"Throw kunai at it!" Sakura said, freaking out. So they did. They bounced harmlessly off the shell.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Arai yelled, creeped.

"Stand back!" Sasuke yelled, doing rapid hand signs. He finished with the sign of the tiger. "Fire style: fireball jutsu!" A giant ball of fire erupted from where he blew just as everyone dodged. It surrounded the bug.

Everyone watched in horror as the bug shook off the flames like nothing. "Impossible!" Sasuke hissed. "It's just a bug!" The bug snapped at them with it's pincers.

Arai had enough. She activated her sharingan, forming hand signs. She grabbed her wrist and her hand began chirping as blue lightning chakra filled it. They stared at her as she ran and slammed her hand through the shell of the bug, killing it. The bug fell to the ground.

"EWW!!" She yelled, shaking her hand of bug guts.

"What was that jutsu?" Naruto asked. "That was awesome!" Kakashi smiled.

'Hmm...Did Sasuke teach her that? Or did I?' He wondered.

Arai wiped her hand on the grass. "Gross...bug guts. Ugh." She ignored the question though. Sasuke stared in wonder.

'Definitely a jutsu I want to learn.' He thought.

* * *

Team 7 walked home after finishing their mission in utter disgust. "Raise your hand if you agree that that was the worst mission ever." Arai asked. Everyone except Kakashi raised his hand. "Yeah." She said. "That's what I thought too."

* * *

"MEEOWWW!!!"

"Poor Tiger...Good little kitty...I was so worried about you, I could have died!" Lady Shijimi cried, cuddling the struggling cat. Team 7 sweat-dropped.

'Poor cat...' Arai thought, feeling completely sorry for the creature.

"Now, the next assignment for Kakashi's team seven will be...Hmmm...To babysit for the council of elders...to run errands to the neighboring village...to help dig sweet potatoes......." Lord Hokage read off.

"No way!! No thank you~~!! BORRRRINNGG!!" Naruto yelled, crossing his arms. "Give us something different to do. Something important! Something amazing!"

'....He's got a point.' Sasuke thought.

"Don't be a fool~~!! You're only a beginner! Everyone starts out doing grunt work. It's where you get experience, so you can work your way up to bigger things." Iruka objected.

"We've done tons of small stuff. Can't we get some action?!!" Naruto complained.

Arai sighed as Kakashi hit Naruto over the head. 'I understand your pain, Naruto.' She thought, empathizing.

"Naruto, that's enough. Knock it off!" Kakashi said, exasperated.

"Apparently Naruto needs and explanation of just what these duties are..." The Hokage said. "You see..." Arai ignored the lecture. She'd actually heard it all before from the Hokage from her time, so she didn't feel like hearing it again.

She looked out the window. 'Oh look a bird. It's pretty. Hmm...I wonder what Sasuke will cook for dinner...? Though it doesn't really matter. If I don't like it I'll have ramen. What's going....? Oh, he's still yammering. *sigh* When will the rant end?' Arai thought.

"...Please invite him in." The Hokage said, drawing Arai's attention back. The door behind them opened and in walked an old man, a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

"What's going on here? They look like a bunch of wet-nosed brats." The man said, taking a swig of his drink. "Especially the midget. He's got the face of an imbecile. It's a joke right? You kids aren't really ninja, are you?"

Naruto laughed nervously. "Who'd you mean? Which midget? Which imbeci..." *?!* The three kids looked at Naruto, the shortest of the group. (Arai and Sakura were the same size, Sasuke was the tallest and Naruto the shortest.)

"I'LL KILL HIM!!!" Naruto yelled, trying to attack the client.

Kakashi grabbed Naruto's jacket. "Wrong. No killing the old man you've been assigned to protect."

* * *

They arrived at the gates to Konoha half an hour later after packing. "All right! Road trip!!" Naruto yelled, excited.

"What are you babbling about?" Sakura asked, annoyed.

"This'll be the first time in my life I've ever been outside the village!" Naruto said, taking in the sights around him.

Tazuna looked worried. "There's no call for concern, Tazuna-san. You have two elite ninjas on your team." Arai said.

"Two? Who's the second?" He asked.

"Me!" Arai grinned, pointing to herself.

"Am I really expected to place my life in the hands of TWO fools?" Tazuna asked Kakashi.

Arai scowled, bringing out a kunai slowly. "I'll show you fool..." Kakashi whacked her on the head.

"Bad girl. No killing." Arai's mood turned foul as Naruto ranted on how he should be respected. Tazuna replied smartly.

"YOU ARE DEAD!!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi held him back.

"I SAID no, you little dunce." He turned to Sasuke. "Make sure Arai doesn't try to kill the old man, please." Sasuke yanked the kunai Arai had brought out again away. Arai scowled.

"Come on, Sasuke! Just one kunai to the face?" Sasuke glared at her. "He called me a fool!" She whispered harshly.

"Well you are." Sasuke said. Arai sulked, her pride smarting at the two blows.

* * *

After about half an hour of walking, Arai noticed something unusual. She saw a puddle on the side of the road. 'Strange...It hasn't rained in days...' She glanced at Kakashi and saw him looking as well.

They walked past the puddle in silence. Unknown to them two ninjas slowly and silently came out of the water. One ninja tossed the other in front of Kakashi, making the chain connected between them wrap around the jounin. They pulled it tight.

"What?!" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"Eh~~?!" Sakura asked.

"What th~~?!" Naruto yelled at the same time.

"One little piggy." One of the ninja said and they yanked the spiked chain, ripping Kakashi to pieces. Sakura screamed as Naruto yelled, "Master Kakashi!!"

Arai cursed. "Protect Tazuna!" She yelled, as suddenly the enemy ninja appeared behind Naruto.

"Two little piggies..." They said, about to wrap the chain around him.

'Shit! I want to help but Sasuke's-' Arai's thoughts were cut off however as Sasuke jumped into the air, simultaneously whipping out a shuriken and a kunai. He tossed the shuriken and it caught the chain, pinning it to a tree. He then tossed a kunai so that it struck in the middle of the circle of the shuriken, effectively securing them in place.

Sasuke landed on the ninjas' arms. He grabbed a hold of them to use as leverage and kicked out, striking their heads. The chain disconnected and they went separate ways. One went after Naruto and one went after Tazuna. Sasuke went for the one going after Naruto.

"Stand back, sir!" Sakura yelled, a kunai in hand and jumped in front of the old man. Arai jumped between them now, pulling her katana out of its holster. **(A/N: Yes she has a katana.)**

But suddenly the ninja was caught by Kakashi. He held both ninjas in his arms. "I'm sorry Naruto. I should've moved to help you sooner before you were injured. It never occurred to me that you would freeze up." He turned to the group, praising them for their work.

"Hey..." Sasuke said, turning to Naruto. "Are you okay, you big chicken?" Naruto scowled.

"Naruto!" Arai said. "Their claws are poisoned. Let me see the wound." She walked over, examining the injury. "If we cut it more deeply, the blood flow will wash the poison away."

"C-can't you heal it?" Naruto asked.

"No, I don't have the antidote." She said. "For now, keep as still as possible, so the poison won't spread."

"Tazuna-san." Kakashi said.

"Wha...what is it?!" The man asked.

"I need to speak with you." He tied up the ninja.

After he finished explaining the situation, Sakura grew nervous. "We're not good enough yet to handle something like this...can we quit? Arai said she can't heal Naruto's wound so we need some anesthetic before we can re-open and drain the poison. Can't we return to the village and have a doctor look at it?"

"Hmm..." Kakashi said. "......This is...complicated!" Naruto growled. "Do we go back now so we can make certain Naruto receives medical attention...?"

Naruto suddenly whipped out a kunai, stabbing himself in the hand. Everyone stared at him in shock. "Naruto what are you~~?! No!! Stop that!!" Sakura yelled. Her yells were ignored however.

"With this kunai knife, I promise you, I...will protect the old man." Naruto grinned through his pain. "Reporting, fit for duty, Master!"

"Naruto we needed a free flow of blood to clean the poison from your wound...but you've succeeded the need." Arai smiled at Naruto's foolishness. "You could bleed to death. I'm serious."

"NOOO! Nuh-uh! No way! Isn't gonna happen! I'm not gonna die like this!" Naruto yelled.

Arai took Naruto's hand. "Relax. The poison's gone and I won't let you die."

"What are you, Naruto? Some kind of masochist? Do you get off on pain?" Sakura demanded.

Arai stared at the injury. 'It's...almost healed. Kyuubi's power is really amazing. Naruto....' She finished the healing for the kitsune.

"It's all right, isn't it...?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"You'll be fine." She said as the wound closed, fully healed.

"Master...Sensei-san, sir..." Tazuna said, drawing Kakashi's attention. "I...have something I need to say..."

* * *

**A/N:** Okay so here's the second part. I will be adding fillers and stuff of course. I started the Zabuza serie so yay!

Edit: I'd also like to add that it will take longer to upload the next chapters because I usually add three or four short chapters that I put on deviantART into one. Plus I need to plan the next part for the Zabuza series. So sorry, it'll take a bit.


	3. Zabuza Battle 1

**A/N:** I'm truely sorry about the delay. I've been busy with school, being grounded, and procrastinating. ^-^' Sorry. I know it's shorter than the others but I thought maybe something was better than nothing. Hope you like!

* * *

Sasuke walked with his team quietly after getting off the small boat that took them past the bridge. Something was off. Of course the whole 'Oh there's someone out to get me' speech from Tazuna didn't help at all...but he was worried. He glanced at his daughter walking next to him. She met his glance.

"What?" She murmured, keeping her voice down so the others won't hear.

"Any butterflies coming up that I can know about?" He asked. She grimaced and looked away.

"I wish I could tell you..." The two jumped as suddenly Naruto yelled

"Over there!!" And threw a shuriken into the bush. They all stood in silence. "I...Uh, guess it was only a mouse." Naruto said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"What mouse? Are you out of your mind? There was nothing there, you moron!" Sakura yelled.

"Please...please don't play around with your shuriken. They can be a teensy bit dangerous!" Kakashi said. Sasuke scoffed at Naruto's idiocy as Arai smiled a bit fondly.

"Hey! Midget!! Don't go scaring us! Stop messing with our heads!!" Tazuna yelled.

"I think I might have seen someone!" Naruto said, looking around again. Suddenly a rustle in the bushes caught Kakashi and Arai's attentions. "This time! Over there!" Naruto threw more shuriken in the bushes.

"I told you to quit it!" Sakura screamed and punched the side of his head.

"I swear~~! There was someone in there! After us!" Naruto tried to amend as Kakashi walked over to the bush.

"You are SUCH a liar." Sakura scolded. The group joined Kakashi. Arai sighed at the rabbit and glanced at Kakashi as Sakura and Naruto talked.

A shiver ran down her spine. She knew exactly what was coming next.

"Everyone take cover!!" Kakashi yelled. Arai ducked as Sakura tackled Naruto and Sasuke did the same to Tazuna. A sword flew overhead and a figure landed on it when it hit and stuck in the tree.

A man stood on the hilt of the giant sword, turned away from them but looking back at them. "Well well...if it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the kid who ran off and left the land of the mists!" Kakashi greeted.

Naruto took a step, about to attack, but Arai cut him off. "Don't interfere." She whispered.

"Give me room to work." Kakashi said. "This one is on a different plane from out previous opponents." The man grabbed his hitai-ate. "Like this...This may be a little rough.

"Kakashi of the sharingan eye, I presume? If it wouldn't be too much trouble...could you surrender the old man?" Zabuza asked. Sasuke took in a silent gasp.

'The sharingan...the mirror wheel eye?!' Sasuke thought and looked at Arai. She didn't see him.

"Assume the manji battle formation! Protect Tazuna-san..." Kakashi said. "Arai...?' She stepped up next to him. "All of you stay out of the fight."

"Why does Arai get to-" Naruto was cut off, however by said girl.

"That's the kind of teamwork this situation demands." She said.

Zabuza smirked. "A little girl?" Arai scowled and pulled out her katana, activating her sharingan as Kakashi lifted his headband away from his eye. The three genin gasped as they saw the sharingans.

"Shall we?!" Kakashi asked.

'A fully developed sharingan?!' Sasuke thought as he saw Arai's eyes. 'But she's my age!'

"Ahh...So that's why she's here. To face two legendary mirror wheel eyes so early in our acquaintance...this is an honor." Zabuza said, turning to face them.

"You keep calling it a sharingan eye...What the heck is it?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Shinobi who have the sharingan eye have mastered a form of ninjutsu. It enables them to penetrate and see the reality behind any illusion and reflect the power of the magics they penetrate back on those who cast them! And there's more." Sasuke explained.

"Like what?" Naruto demanded.

Zabuza laughed. "Exactly. There is indeed more. Most formidable of all is the acuity with which the sharingan can discern and duplicate its opponent's greatest skill. Your master here has copied over a thousand different techniques...Kakashi the mirror ninja." He glanced at Arai. "And how many have you copied?"

She glared, flexing her hand. "I don't know. I stopped after finishing my first A-ranked assignment. It brings back bad memories..."

Sakura stared in wonder and suspicion. 'But how...? She's only twelve and out of the academy just like us...'

"You're the best!" Naruto cheered.

Sasuke glared at Arai and then Kakashi. 'But...does it mean...the sharingan eye is...supposed to be unique to only a small number of the Uchiha clan. Could he be...?'

"Enough talk." Zabuza said. "I'm on a very tight schedule to polish off the old man." Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto jumped in front of Tazuna, kunai in hand. "But it looks like I'll have to kill you two off first." He pulled his sword out of the tree and jumped on the water.

"Arai, stay near Tazuna. Don't leave the land." Kakashi demanded as Zabuza formed a jutsu. "He will come after me first. He's famous for silent killing. You're not trained to battle against him since he's already gone, I hope?" Sakura and Naruto gazed completely lost at the two.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I haven't been trained in silent killing. It's not my forte, but I know the basics." Arai said. "Letting your guard down around him will buy us a straight trip to heaven."

"Yes. I haven't necessarily mastered every aspect of the sharingan, so I need you to keep on your toes. All of you."

"What's with all this fog?" Naruto yelled.

"There are eight targets." A disembodied voice said. "Throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, jugular vein, subclavian artery, kidney, heart...so many choices what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose?" It laughed.

Sasuke began sweating. 'This terrible blood thirst...if I draw his attention by even blinking, he'll kill me! I can feel it! I can't stay like this for long! I'm going to lose it.' His body began to shake. 'A master ninja, determined to make a kill...knowing my life is in his hands...I hate it! You start wanting to die, just to end the suspense…'

"Sasuke." Arai said, standing right behind Kakashi. "Calm down." She smiled over her shoulder. "Everything will be alright. Trust us."

"Even if he gets me...and Arai as well...I'll still protect you." He smiled over his shoulder too. "I will never let my comrades die!!"

"I wouldn't bet on that..." Zabuza appeared between the small group. "Game over." Kakashi stabbed him while Arai pushed the genin away. Suddenly another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, about to attack. Arai charged and as Kakashi was sliced in half, cut the Zabuza in half. However, another Zabuza appeared, about to kill her, when Kakashi placed a kunai to his neck.

"Don't move..." Arai turned to face the assassin. "Game over."

"Awesome!" Naruto yelled.

Zabuza laughed. "You think it's over? You just don't get it. It will take more than mimicking me like an ape...a lot more." He laughed again. "But you two are better than expected, especially the girl. Too bad for you..." Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi. "I am not that easy to fool!" The clone turned to water, and the real Zabuza swung his sword.

Kakashi dropped to the ground, barely dodging the blade and Arai jumped over him, katana poised to kill. Zabuza dodged and kicked her hard, sending her flying into Kakashi. The two flew over Tazuna, falling into the water.

"Arai! Master!" Naruto screamed. Kakashi pulled Arai up with him and they gasped.

"Why is the water so heavy?" Arai asked, trying to lift her arms.

"Hah! Gullible fools!" Zabuza appeared behind them on the water and suddenly a water prison came up and surrounded them. Arai clutched her throat, unable to breathe. "That prison is inescapable. You're trapped. I'll finish you two later after I've dealt with the others."

"NO!" Arai yelled as a water clone formed on land.

Naruto gulped. Zabuza chuckled evilly. "Little ninja wannabe. Trying so hard to fit in, you even where a hitai-ate headband. But a true ninja is one who has crossed and recrossed the barrier between the lands of the living and the dead. We don't call your kind 'ninja'. We call them..." He disappeared.

Naruto gasped and was suddenly struck hard. He flew back a bit.

"...Brats." the real Zabuza finished.

"Everyone, listen! Take Tazuna and go!!! It's a fight you can't win!!!" Arai yelled.

"If he wants to hold us here in this prison, he can't leave this place." Kakashi yelled. "If his water doppelganger gets more that a certain distance from his real body he loses control of it. So get out of here!"

Sasuke didn't know what to do. Arai claimed everything would work out fine, but was this part of the plan? He looked at her, desperate to know if the future had been altered. She wasn't looking at him though. She was looking at Naruto.

She followed his gaze and watched as Naruto climbed to his feet and charged with a battle cry.

"Stop, you fool!" Kakashi yelled.

"He's..." Sasuke said.

"Naruto!! What are you thinking?!" Sakura screamed.

Zabuza knocked Naruto away. Naruto climbed back to his feet, carrying his headband. "Hey...You...What's life like without eyebrows, freak?" Naruto gasped. He tied on his headband. "Be sure to add Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha-school ninja to your book!" Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Sasuke! Listen up. There's something I want to tell you!"

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"I have a plan."

Sasuke 'hmph'ed. 'NOW he has a plan...' "So, it's time for some teamwork?"  
(Okay everyone knows what happens here so I'm going to skip to the actual thing...)

Zabuza caught the large shuriken sent at him. "Amateur!" Then suddenly a second one appeared. However, Zabuza jumped over it. "Still an amateur!" Sasuke smirked as suddenly the second shuriken transformed into Naruto. The three strongest shinobis' eyes widened. Naruto tossed a kunai at Zabuza arm, making the man remove his arm from the water prison, breaking the spell.

Zabuza turned, angry and was about to strike Naruto with the windmill shuriken he'd caught, when Kakashi blocked it. Arai ran across the water and pulled Naruto out, supporting him the best she could. "Naruto, your scheme was brilliant!"

"You've matured...all of you." Kakashi complimented. "Arai, get Naruto back to land." Arai nodded and ran back towards the group, going around the two adults. She watched with the others as Kakashi beat Zabuza because he copied the ninja's jutsus.

Suddenly another ninja wearing a mask appeared, striking Zabuza in the neck with needles. Kakashi checked Zabuza's pulse and knew the man was dead.

"Thank you for your help." The mysterious ninja bowed his head. "...I hope you mind my interfering, but I wanted the satisfaction of putting Zabuza out of his misery myself!"

Arai shuddered as her adrenaline slowed and listened to the conversation. 'Amazing.' She thought as the ninja took Zabuza's body away. 'Completely amazing.' She smiled despite herself. 'I actually got to live out one of the greatest battles of Team 7 and I didn't even alter the future!'

Kakashi sighed and pulled his headband down as Arai released his sharingan. "Now! We still have to escort Tazuna-san the rest of the way to his home. Let's put our best feet forward!"

Tazuna laughed. "You kids must be so humiliated!! But never mind. You can lick your wounds at my house." Kakashi fell forward.

"What's happening?!" Sakura yelled as Naruto cried out Kakashi's name. Kakashi couldn't move.

"Arai what's wrong with him?!" Naruto demanded.

"No worries!" She said. "He just over-used his sharingan." She kneeled down beside the man with a smile. "Apparently your best feet aren't very strong." Kakashi sweat-dropped.

* * *

R&R PLEASE!!!


	4. Zabuza's Alive!

**A/N: Hey I'm back! Read on darlings!**

**Thank you to my Beta Sasuita95!! Hope things get better!**

* * *

"Um...Arai-chan?" Sakura asked as the group was walking into the village where Tazuna lived. Tazuna was carrying Kakashi.

"Yeah?" Arai asked, distracted.

"What were you and Kakashi-sensei talking about before? You know, right before you two fought Zabuza?" Sasuke glanced at Arai as the girl looked at Sakura.

Arai wasn't sure what to say. She got up in the moment and completely forgot to pretend around the two team members who had no clue about her being from the future. She looked at Kakashi, but the man watched her, waiting to see what she would do.

"It doesn't matter, Sakura. Don't worry about it." Arai said to avoid the subject. Sakura, however wasn't pleased with this answer.

"But you're only twelve and out of the academy like us, so how did you already go on an A-rank mission?" The girl asked. Naruto nodded for emphasis.

Arai scowled. "I told you that I'm advanced. I've done a lot of things-"

"But that's not right! We haven't heard..." Sakura cut off as Arai turned to glare the imfamous Uchiha glare.

"No more Twenty Questions." The girl said. "Until Kakashi is better, I will be your teacher. Stop the talking." The group's eyes widened at her sudden mood change.

"Arai?" Naruto asked. "Is everything alright?" Arai merely nodded.

At Tazuna's house Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, came into the room where Team 7 was relaxing next to the bed-ridden Kakashi.

"Are you alright, teacher?!" The woman asked, hands on her hips.

"No, but I will be...in about a week..." Kakashi said, feeling nervous under the woman's glare.

"The sharingan is an incredible power but doesn't the strain it puts on your body make you wonder if it's worth it?" Sakura asked.

"This time you took down your strongest foe yet so we can probably relax for a while." Tazuna said, wiping his head after carrying the teacher the way home.

Sasuke glanced looked at Arai as she grimaced lightly from where she was laying, her head on his lap. He frowned, not liking the motion. He didn't pay attention to the others and murmured, "What's wrong with you?"

She closed her eyes and sighed, "It's hard trying to keep up this secret...especially now."

"Why?" Sasuke asked, confused.

Arai stared up at him. "This is a big event in your life is all. If you think about it, it's your first high-rank mission." Sasuke nodded, understanding and returned to paying attention to the conversation.

Team 7 sat around in Kakashi's room just resting from the stressful day yesterday. Arai hummed to herself as she read a scoll, Sasuke sat quietly by himself, Sakura watched the birds outside, and Naruto lay on his back as he stared at the ceiling while Kakashi did the same.

Sasuke looked at Arai. "I have a question, Arai." The group glanced at him.

"What about?" Arai continued to read the scoll. It was a tale about how the monarch butterfly came to be.

"Your sharingan..." He murmured. "You're my age and yet you have a fully developed sharingan."

"What difference does that make?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked at him. "Sharingan is usually unique to only a certain number of Uchiha. I haven't even developed mine yet." The three looked back at Arai, who'd stiffened.

She closed the scroll slowly. "I told you...I'm special."

"Why? How come you have it and Sasuke-kun doesn't?" Sakura asked.

Arai sat up and faced them, sadness etched in her features. "Sharingan usually appears in an Uchiha's eyes after training especially hard. Sometimes it is activated because of a tramatic event. Both of these reasons are called for in mine, but unfortunately it's mostly the latter..." She whispered.

"Wha-what happened?" Naruto asked, worried at his friend's pain.

Her bangs covered her eyes. "When I was about eight my parents took me on a picnic to celebrate my getting into the ninja academy. While we were there, we were ambushed by a group of strong ninja. My parents fought the enemies, but while their backs were turned...I was kidnapped." Sakura and Naruto gasped while Sasuke's eyes widened. "The man wanted me because I was an Uchiha. I was forced to train for the next year, developing my sharingan and my skills. The training would've killed a grown man...it's a miracle I'm even alive."

"During that year the man didn't just train me...he also brainwashed me. He made me hate everyone close to me, even my parents." Arai growled. "I was still young and at an impressionable age, so he took advantage of that." Sasuke scowled. "When my parents and close allies finally found me, I hated them. I attacked." She looked away, ashamed. "They had to incapacitate me and take me back home. It took nearly half a year for me to trust them again. That's how I developed my sharingan." She whispered.

They were silent for the longest time. Then Sakura spoke up. "I'm so sorry, Arai."

Arai just smiled, somewhat forcefully. "No worries. What's done is done." She looked at Sasuke, but he didn't make eye contact.

* * *

Arai watched in amusement as Naruto and Sakura crept over Kakashi's sleeping form to remove his mask. They murmured lowly to each other so as to not disturb the man while he slept. Naruto reached for Kakashi's mask when suddenly the man's eyes snapped open, causing the two genin to scream and fall back, catching Sasuke and Tazuna's attentions.

Tsunami walked in as Kakashi sat up. "Oh, Kakashi-sensei, you're awake." She said as Sakura whispered harshly to Naruto. Kakashi's hand was over his face, deep in thought.

Naruto seemed to finally notice something was up. "What's wrong, sensei?"

"Huh?" Kakashi pulled out of his thoughts. "Well body erasing teams ususally dispose of the body of the person they killed right there. "

"So what?" Sakura asked.

"Don't you see? How did that masked boy dispose of the body?"

"Ha? How would we know? He took the body with him." Sakura shrugged.

"Yeah...If he needed proof of his work, he could have just taken the head." Kakashi murmured, thinking. "And the weapon that he used to kill Zabuza...Simple needles..."

Suddenly Sasuke's eyes widened as he got it. "No way." Sakura and Naruto looked back and forth between the two shinobi, confused.

"Yeah...exactly." Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked.

"Most likely...Zabuza is alive!" Kakashi said darkly. Sakura, Naruto, and Tazuna gaped in shock as Tsunami frowned, not knowing who Zabuza was.

"What the hell do you mean?!" Naruto screamed.

"Kakashi-sensei, you checked to see if he was dead!" Sakura yelled in agreement. "He was dead, right Arai?" Sakura asked suddenly, turning to the girl.

Arai flinched, causing Sasuke to glare at her. "Um...If what Kakashi said is true, it was most likely a momentary death."

"How is that possible?!" Naruto yelled. "We saw him die!"

Arai avoided Sasuke's gaze. "The needle that the hunter-nin used is used for medical purposes. Unless he actually hit a vital organ, Zabuza had a low chance at dying."

"And did he hit a vital organ?" Sasuke questioned, suspicious of the girl. When Arai didn't answer he said, "Well? You're a medical ninja."

"Yeah!" Sakura said. "Did the ninja hit a vital organ?" Arai's lips tightened. She didn't have an excuse.

Kakashi's sigh saved her though. "It doesn't matter. There's a possibility that Zabuza's alive. The hunter-nin probably did it to SAVE Zabuza. This means that we'll have to prepare before it's too late. Plus whether Zabuza is dead or alive, there's no assurances that Gatou hasn't hired even stronger shinobi."

"Sensei, what do you mean by preparing before it's too late?" Sakura asked. "you can barely move."

Kakashi chuckled. "You guys will recieve training."

"Huh? Training?" Sakura murmured. "What's a little training going to do?! Our enemy is a ninja you struggled with even with sharingan!!" She yelled.

"And who saved me while I was struggling? You guys are growing rapidly." Kakashi smiled. "Especally Naruto! You've grown the most." Naruto smiled at the praise. "But obviously this is just training until I get better. You won't be able to defeat him without me." Here he glanced at Arai knowingly. She smiled back, releaved that the man understood her postion.

"Sounds like a lot of fun!" Naruto yelled, excited.

"That's not fun." A voice called from the dorrway. The group turned to see a little boy in a hat.

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto demanded.

"Ohh! Inari where were you?" Tazuna cried happily, holding his arms out.

"Welcome back, grandpa." The boy murmured and walked over to him.

"Inari, say hello to these people. They are the ninjas that protected grandpa." Tsunami said. Inari glared.

"Mom...they're going to die."

"What did you say, you little brat?!!" Naruto screamed. Arai sighed as Naruto continued to yell at the little boy. Inari fought back calmly as Naruto became more and more riled up.

She glanced at Sasuke, who wasn't paying attention. She knew she had some explaining to do.

"Okay, now we start training." Kakashi said as the group of genin stood in the forest with him. He was supported by crutches.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto yelled.

"But first I would like to talk about chakra..." Arai ignored him. She tried to think back to her father's stories. What was this part? '....' she closed her eyes in concentration.

***FLASHBACK (oooooohhhh!)***

_Arai, now 6, sat at her father's feet, waiting. The man was reading a scroll, completely ignoring his daughter's previous question. Her cheeks puffed in annoyance. _

_"Daaaaaddd!!" She complained obnoxiously, knowing it would get his attention. _

_Sasuke put down his scroll and gazed at the little girl, a small smile fighting its way onto his lips. his black eyes were filled with merriment. "Yes?" _

_"Tell me a story!" She asked, pulling his pants leg. "Tell me about when you were in Team seven!" _

_Sasuke sighed and placed his scroll to the side, knowing that he'd never get rid of the pest until she got her way. He lifted her onto his lap and thought for a moment. "Did I tell you the one where I learned how to climb trees?" He asked. _

_Arai crossed her arms. "That's stupid, dad! Something exciting!" _

_Sasuke smirked. "Did I tell you how I learned to climb trees...with no hands?" He asked, his smirk widening as his daughter's eyes shone. _

_"No! Tell me! Tell me!" She hopped up and down in his lap. _

_"Okay, okay." Her father hushed her. "You see..." Arai listened as her father began telling her the story. She commented when possible. _

_"Sasuke!" They heard a voice call from the kitchen. "Is the chicken supposed to turn black?!" Arai instantly recognized her mother's voice. _

_Her dad cursed and quickly put her on the couch to run to the kitchen as the fire alarm went off and her mother's yells mixed with it._

***END***

"TREE CLIMBING?!" The yell startled Arai out of her thoughts. She sighed. 'At least there'll be no trouble with this...' She thought.

"...How?" Sakura asked as Arai began paying attention again.

Kakashi turned to Arai. "Will you demonstrate?" He asked. Arai nodded and made a hand sign, concentrating her chakra into her feet. "Now watch." Kakashi said to the rest of the genin.

When Arai finished gathering chakra, she turned to the tree behind and and walked forward. She put her foot on the tree and step by step began walking up it.  
"Do you understand now?" she asked, hanging upside down and watching the group. They stared in amazement.

"Gather chakra into the bottom of your feet and climb up a tree." Kakashi smiled. "This is something you can do once you can use chakra well, As Arai will teach you."

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry I ended it there, but I got bored. You know what happens at this point. Who liked Arai's little flash back? Sorry if Sasuke's OOC but he's supposed to be. He changes in the future. Hahah! Arai's mom set the kitchen on fire!

I have a question.

Should I have Naruto and Sakura find out that Arai's from the future within the next chapter or so or should they wait until around the Chuunin exams? It won't change much, I'm just curious.

**R&R PLEASE!!!**


	5. Training

**A/N: This is pretty much a filler chapter that needs to get done.**

* * *

Arai watched in silence from her tree branched as Sasuke and Naruto competed to be the first to master the chakra skill needed to climb the tree they chose. She smiled fondly. Unlike in the future, this Sasuke and Naruto didn't compete for fun- because they were just friends. They fought to grow their yet unknown friendship. She sighed, missing her older friends.

***Flashback***

Arai (8) huffed as she landed, the shuriken she just threw stuck to the log, striking it perfectly. She grinned and turned to run back home and show her parents. She paused however as she heard a scuffling. She snuck over to the source of the sound and saw Naruto and Sasuke standing across from each other.

Sasuke was smirking, his arms crossed. "Face it, dobe. You can't beat me."

Naruto huffed. "I can too! I am Hokage after all!"

"That doesn't make a difference." Sasuke looked away. Naruto took this time and charged. They fought swiftly. It scared Arai slightly; afraid they would actually hurt each other. She couldn't keep up with their movements.

Suddenly Naruto was pinned, Sasuke kneeling on his back. Sasuke leaned over and whispered something in Naruto's ear, making the man flush with what Arai guessed was anger.

"TEME!!" Naruto yelled and tried to wiggle away. Arai tilted her head to the side.

'Teme...? What's a....teme?' She wondered.

Sasuke got off and pulled Naruto up. "Baka. I told you that you couldn't beat me."

Naruto growled and tackled him. However instead of fighting, they wrestled. Naruto continued to yell words that Arai never heard and Sasuke responded with sentences that Arai couldn't quite understand yet.

She decided however that it was time to leave because she knew what those two were like when they fought. She would show her father later....And maybe tell him some new words that she learned.

***End***

Arai sighed contently and as Naruto yelled something at Sasuke. Sasuke responded coolly, making the blonde more pissed. Arai rolled her eyes. Those two would never change.

Arai walked into the forest alone, enjoying the peace of the night. She could hear the ocean lapping against the shore not too far away. Sasuke, she knew, would be joining her shortly. He often came with her where ever she went because he seemed to enjoy her company. She knew why too. Her father and mother had explained enough about his younger self to know what he liked and didn't like....even if her mother didn't follow all of the rules. But then again Arai was a mix of both of her parents so....whatever.

As she walked past the training area for the team, she heard a grunt. She looked up and her eyes widened as something came falling towards her.

Sasuke sensed Arai's chakra and followed the path she took, taking his time. He enjoyed the privacy. It did annoy him somewhat, though, that he was too low on chakra to keep training while Naruto still was at it. He scowled at the thought of the blonde boy.

A cry jerked him out of his thoughts. 'Arai!' He thought and ran towards the source of the sound. When he arrived, he didn't expect what he saw.

Arai fell onto her back with a cry as the object landed on top of her. Her eyes squeezed shut by habit. She felt something soft upon her lips and her eyes snapped open wide to find Naruto, his eyes just as wide, kissing her.

She heard a small gasp to her side and she and Naruto turned, breaking their kiss, to see Sasuke. The boy scowled. "Get off of my daughter, dobe!" Arai's eyes widened impossibly more at that.

Sasuke ran over and grabbed Naruto by his jacket, slamming him against a tree. "What the hell do you think you were doing?!" He growled.

"Back off!" Naruto yelled and pushed him off.

Arai grabbed Sasuke's shoulders. "Sasuke, it was an accident!" She said. Sasuke still scowled. "He fell from the tree and landed on me." The three stood in silence as they waited for the Uchiha male to calm.

"Sasuke, what did you mean by 'daughter'?" Naruto asked when that was accomplished. Sasuke's own eyes widened when he realized he'd given away Arai's secret.

"I....I didn't..." Arai slapped her forehead as Sasuke failed to make an excuse.

She sighed. "Looks like the secret is out..." She muttered. She turned to Naruto. "Sasuke didn't lie. I really am his daughter." She could see the cogs turning in Naruto's head as he tried to see how that was possible.

"But...You two are the same age..." He frowned, his arms crossed and his head tilted to the side.

"Yes we are." Arai agreed. "You see, I'm from eighteen years in the future, when Sasuke is more than allowed to have children."

"Really?" Naruto asked, intrigued. "But how are you here then?"

"I stole an important scroll from the Hokage's building and came back in time because my mom is fatally ill and we don't have the cure in the future while there's one here." She explained quickly. Naruto thought about it and then broke out into a huge grin.

"That is SO COOL!!" He yelled. "You're a time traveler!" Arai and Sasuke both sighed, glad that Naruto didn't put up a hassle. "Can you tell me what I'm like?"

"Not now." She rubbed her temples. "Tomorrow. Listen." She said seriously. "You can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Why not?"

"Because you'll ruin the future. You weren't supposed to know. The less people that know, the better." Naruto nodded and then gazed at the two Uchihas. Suddenly his eyes widened in realization.

"Oh shit!" He yelled and clapped his hands against his face. "I kissed Sasuke's daughter!" Sasuke scowled.

Arai grinned. "You should be proud Naruto. You kissed two generations of Uchiha."

"NOOOOO!!!" Naruto screamed.

* * *

Arai walked with Kakashi and Sakura on the seventh day of training to check on Sasuke's and Naruto's progression. She looked around, trying to spot the two as Kakashi asked,

"Now where did Naruto go THIS time? Pushing himself beyond his limit, going out all by himself again last night..."

Sakura shook her head. "And Sasuke says he's going out for a walk this morning and he disappears too!" Suddenly a kunai struck the ground right in front of them. They looked up and saw Naruto, lying exhausted on a tall tree branch, chuckling.  
"NARUTO can climb all the way up THERE?" Sakura wondered in amazement.

"Well? Well? Did you see? Lookit how high I can climb!" Naruto yelled down at them. He climbed to his feet...  
and slipped.

"You idiot!!" Sakura yelled as Arai cried Naruto's name.

"NO!! If he falls from that height-" Kakashi cried. Naruto and Sakura screamed as Naruto began to fall...  
Only to hang upside down.

Naruto laughed. "Ha! Gotcha suckers!" Arai sighed as Sakura began to bitch. Suddenly Naruto's feet stopped clinging to the tree.

"Uh-oh!" Arai ran towards the tree, ready to catch him, when Sasuke appeared and caught the blonde's leg.

"You dobe." Sasuke muttered. Kakashi smiled up as Sakura cheered.

"BAKA!!" Arai screamed. "DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!" Sasuke hoisted Naruto back up onto the branch and Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, Arai-chan."

Arai slid down the tree. 'I thought for a second there....'

* * *

That night Arai waited on a beach near the training sight for Naruto and Sasuke. She gazed worriedly at the moon. 'Tomorrow....' She thought. 'Tomorrow is the big battle...' She heard a scuffling.

Sasuke and Naruto appeared through the bush, Sasuke half dragging Naruto. Naruto blinked in surprise. "Arai-chan? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be eating dinner?"

Arai frowned. "Yeah, I should..." Sasuke pulled Naruto over to the beach and dropped him ("Bastard!" Naruto yelled.) and then sat down on the other side of her.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke murmured. Naruto scooted closer and lay down near her.

Arai was silent for a moment. "Remember how I told you that this mission was a big point in your life?" She asked.

"It is?" Naruto asked.

"It is for you too." She said, looking up at the large, crescent moon. Naruto grinned.

"What about it?" Sasuke asked.

"Zabuza...tomorrow we fight him again." Arai whispered. Both boys' eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, shocked. She nodded.

"The problem is...I don't know what to do about the fight." The boys' frowned, confused. "I can't alter this fight in any way, shape, or form." Arai explained. "This is the biggest butterfly I've encountered yet and the slightest change may change the future."

"Butterfly...?" Naruto wondered. Sasuke ignored him.

"Perhaps you might be allowed to fight, but let us do most of the work?" He asked.

Arai shook her head. "This battle is so important...especially for you guys' friendship." She smiled at them.

The two boys made faces. "Friends? With him?" They said at the same time.

Arai giggled. "Yeah." Then she became serious again. "I guess I'm just going to have to wing it. I wish I'd asked Sakura what her experience was with this..."

"What's Sakura like?" Naruto asked.

"Not much different than now." Arai said. "Though she DID cut her hair." She gazed off into space. "She taught me my medical ninjutsu."

"What about me?"

"More mature." She said with a smirk. Sasuke responded with one as well. "But still generally the same." She sighed contently, then stood. "We'd better head back. Dinner should be done." Sasuke stood too and grabbed Naruto, lifting him. The three headed back together.

Arai opened the door and the three stepped in. "So you're finally back!" Tazuna called. "And looking like something the cat dragged in."

Naruto coughed. "Heh...Both of us..."

"I told you if you didn't take a break you'd wear yourself out, you dobe." Sasuke muttered.

Naruto ignored him. "We made it to the top of the tree."

"Good!" Kakashi said. "Starting tomorrow you two can help protect Tazuna-san." Both boys glanced at Arai, who gave a tight-lipped smile.

The three kids sat down as Tsunami came out carrying dinner. She ignored the banter going between them and sighed lightly, gazing at her hands. 'What am I going to do? I can't just change the future. Sasuke and Naruto need to fight the battle on their own and Kakashi...Perhaps I can stay with Sakura....wherever she'll-' Her thoughts cut off however as suddenly Inari cried out to Naruto. He began yelling at him.

They all sat in silence as the boy cried and yelled at Naruto. Naruto responded quietly, and then looked up, glaring.

"It takes a really big man to sit around and cry...you brat! You big baby!" Naruto growled. The boy stood up and walked away.

"Naruto! You went too far!" Sakura yelled after him. Arai watched him silently.

**

* * *

**

A/N: Next is the Zabuza finale fight!


	6. Zabuza Battle 2

**A/N: I want you all to know how much I love you by saying this: every chapter I upload on here is (usually) a combination of 2-3 shorter chapters I put on Deviantart. THIS chapter, however, was all one big chapter. It took me a LONG time to type. But that's how much I love you. This is a big deal cuz I am SO lazy. Seriously.**

**So....yeah. ENJOY!!**

* * *

"We're off, Tsunami!" Tazuna called as team seven minus Naruto left for the bridge. Arai's face was grim; her lips in a tight line. She had a plan of action, but feared what would happen anyhow. She glanced at Sasuke, who met her gaze. He nodded telling her that he was prepared.

"Wha-what the hell?!!" Tazuna yelled as they arrived at the bridge to find the men knocked out. He ran over and lifted one's head. "What happened...what could have...?"

"M-monsters..." The man whispered. The team tensed as suddenly a mist blew in. They looked around the thick mist.

"They're coming!" Arai yelled. Sasuke pulled out a kunai as Kakashi and Sakura's hand travelled to their holsters. Kakashi made a sign with his other hand and Arai pulled out her katana slowly.

"Master Kakashi...This is....is this that man's 'hidden in the mist' technique?" Sakura asked. Sasuke shuddered.

"It's been a while, Kakashi." A disembodied voice said. "You brought the Uchiha girl too....as well as the brats. Oh look at the little boy. He's trembling again, poor thing." Suddenly Zabuza water clones appeared all around them.

Sasuke smiled. "I'm shaking with eagerness for a rematch." He said. Kakashi smiled.

"Go ahead, Sasuke." In a big whirl, all the Zabuza clones were killed. Sasuke landed lightly back in his spot.

"Well! It seems my doppelgangers were no match for you!" The mist cleared somewhat, revealing Zabuza and the masked ninja from before. "It seems the brats have matured quite a bit into worthy rivals...eh, Haku?"

"Indeed!" The masked boy said.

"Looks like I was right." Kakashi murmured. "It seems our masked friend is playing on Zabuza's team."

"He has some nerve, showing up like this!" Sakura growled.

"This one's mine." Sasuke said. Arai sunk back, trying her best to stay in the very background. "That was quite a show you put on there, but now we're on to you...and I hate ham actors!"

"Sasuke's so cool!" Sakura cooed.

"Impressive, isn't he?" Haku asked. "It's amazing he was able to do so well."

"But we're still on the offensive. Go!" Zabuza said. Haku disappeared. Sasuke acted quickly, matching Haku's attack with one of his own.

Kakashi moved to get Zabuza as Arai called out, "Sakura! We have to cover Tazuna-san! Take that side and stay close! Let Sasuke handle Haku!"

"Okay!" Sakura took one side of Tazuna while Arai took the other, both ready to attack if needed.

"I don't want to have to hurt you...But you probably won't leave quietly, will you?" Haku asked, his senbon firmly parrying Sasuke's kunai.

"Heh. Don't be stupid." Sasuke smirked.

Arai watched Sasuke's fight as needles appeared around him, one of the two attacks Haku had laid out.

"SASUKE!!" Sakura cried. Sasuke closed his eyes and made a hand symbol, concentrating his chakra into his feet. At the last second he launched himself into the air, avoiding the attack. Haku jumped back as three shuriken struck near him in succession. Sasuke suddenly appeared behind him.

"Now it's YOU'RE the one who has to worry about blocking my attacks." He said. He struck out with one kunai-filled hand, only to have it blocked by Haku's arm. He tossed the kunai but the masked boy ducked, though was caught in the kick aimed at him. "You're fast, I'm faster." Sasuke said as Haku skidded to a stop.

Arai smiled proudly at her young father. 'Amazing. He's really fast.'

Zabuza chuckled at the speech Arai missed. "Haku...If this keeps going on you realize that you might end up dying at the hands of the person you wanted to spare?"

"Yes....What a pity." Haku said, standing up.

Sasuke tensed. 'Why.....why does the air feel so....cold?' Haku made a hand sign and suddenly ice mirrors appeared in a dome around Sasuke. Haku stepped into the mirror, making his appearance show in every mirror.

'Now that it's all in place...' Sasuke thought. 'What is he planning to do with these mirrors?' Something sliced his shoulder, shocking him. Within a split second needles sliced him everywhere. He cried out in pain. He leaned down and tried to protect his head with his arms.

He faintly heard Sakura cry his name and then he heard Naruto, ranting his head off. The attacks paused. Sasuke sighed. 'Big talker...' He watched as Zabuza tossed some shuriken...but Haku blocked them with his needles, shocking everyone.

"Haku....What are you doing?" Zabuza asked.

"...Zabuza, sir. Please let me have this boy. I want to fight him in my own way." Haku said.

"So you want me to keep my hands off him, eh, Haku? How charmingly naive of you...as usual." Zabuza chuckled.

Sasuke scoffed. 'That guy, naive? Yeah right. Look at me. It's like I'm being cut to ribbons by a thousand needles. But the cuts are all superficial. He's killing me by inches....saving the vital spots and final blow for last.' Sasuke thought. 'But I can't figure out what technique he's using! His doppelgangers all hide in the mirrors and strike simultaneously! I don't even see him move. He strikes before I can spot his weapons' trajectory.' Sasuke looked around, trying to figure it out. 'Looks like my only chance is to concentrate on the battle in here and hope for Naruto or Arai to release me from the outside...' He scowled.

"Yo Sasuke! I'm here to rescue you!" Naruto said, suddenly appearing in front of him.

"Y-YOU DUMBASS!! NO STEALTH...NO CAUTION...YOU CALL YOURSELF A NINJA?!" Sasuke yelled, surprised once again by Naruto's stupidity. "Now you're stuck in here with me....Just do what you want. I don't really care."

"OH FINE!!! I WENT THROUGH HELL TO RESCUE YOU AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?!" Naruto yelled back. Haku climbed back into the mirror.

'So that's it. His real body is over there!' Sasuke thought, pulling out a kunai.

"Over here." A voice called from behind him.

Sasuke stood, making hand signs. 'Looks like destroying all these mirrors is our only hope.'

"Wha-what the hell is going on?!" Naruto asked.

'These mirrors are made of ice so...' Sasuke made a giant flame. 'Fire style: Blaze of Glory!'

As the flames died down it showed that the mirrors were unaffected. "It didn't even make a dent!" Naruto complained, annoyed.

"That pitiful flame will barely touch my ice mirrors." Haku said, pulling out another senbon. Naruto and Sasuke were struck with god knows how many needles, causing them to cry out in pain.

"Which one of you is real?!" Naruto yelled.

"Your eyes will never see the truth. I can't be caught." Haku said calmly.

"Art of Doppelganger!" Naruto said, forming the signs.

"Stop!" Sasuke cried. Narutos appeared, one for each mirror, and attacked. They were all destroyed, however, by Haku's needles.

"My technique is so fast you might as well be standing still!" Haku called as Naruto slid to a stop next to Sasuke.

"I've had enough..." Naruto whispered. "So, this is it? It can't end like this! I have a dream to fulfill!" Naruto yelled.

"…I....find it difficult to embrace the shinobi life." Haku said. "I can't help but prefer you two not to force me to kill you. However if you two are going to come at me..." Sasuke and Naruto smiled, prepared.

"SASUKE! NARUTO!! DON'T YOU DARE LOSE TO A PERSON LIKE HIM!!!" Sakura called.

"Aw, man! Sasuke, we gotta stop reacting and start taking the offensive!" Naruto said.

"Shut up and get on your feet! I can't fight him and watch you too, dobe!" Sasuke yelled. "We're both wounded but we have to suck it up and go on. We'll be fine as long as he doesn't kill one of us!! There must be a limit to his chakra. His attacks have been getting weaker!" Then Sasuke saw Haku shift. 'He's coming!' he thought. He was about to move when a senbon went through his knee. Attacks flew at them from everywhere.

* * *

Arai's body shuddered at the fighting going on around her. Kakashi fought with Zabuza, her and Sakura were protecting Tazuna, and Sasuke and Naruto were fighting Haku. 'Damnit...' She jumped as more yells were heard from the mirror dome.  
'This is terrible.'

Was this how it was supposed to be? Did all of this happen? She hated it. She hated standing around and doing nothing. Her friends were getting hurt and there was nothing she could do about it! "Fuck..." She hissed. Sakura glanced at her. Arai's body shuddered. She was going crazy. It wasn't in her blood to stand around doing nothing.

Suddenly Zabuza appeared behind Tazuna. 'NO!' Arai thought as both she and Sakura ran to block the attack. Kakashi jumped in the way first, however.

"TOO LATE!!!" Zabuza yelled. Sakura screamed.

* * *

A scream pierced the air. 'That's Sakura's voice!! What's going on out there?!' Sasuke thought frantically. 'What the hell does Arai and Kakashi thinking they're doing?!' He looked at Naruto. He was down. 'If this keeps up, we'll all be in serious trouble! I've got to do something!' Sasuke shakily stood. 'My eyes are starting to adjust to the environment.' Naruto grunted.

"You...move well." Haku commented. "But my next attack will take you down!"

'Here he comes!' Sasuke thought, tensed to dodge. 'Stay frosty....Focus...Concentrate....And look through the illusions!' He dodged as Haku attacked, grabbing Naruto in the process. He turned and glared at Haku once he slid to a stop, sharingan blazing.

"You're....! I see....You, too, share the legacy of the kekkei genkai bloodline!" Haku said in shock.

'It was only for a moment....' Sasuke thought. 'But I was actually able to see!!!'

"It would be foolhardy to let this battle go on. I must end this now." Haku exclaimed. "Time to bring this to an end!!" He attacked, aiming for Naruto.

'What?! He's going after Naruto?!' Sasuke thought hurriedly. 'No!! I have to get there first!!' He jumped.

Arai stared in shock at Kakashi's wound. What was wrong with this man?! Why'd he do that?! But she wasn't paying attention to this battle. She'd overheard Haku and turned to look at the ice dome.

'No...' She thought. 'I HAVE to do something!' She turned to run and join them when she heard Kakashi say,

"Both of you stay there. Arai, the boys can handle themselves. I'll finish this as quickly as I can." And then the sensei attacked. Arai glared, hating herself, but she obeyed.

Sasuke stood in front of Naruto, needles poking out of him everywhere. Haku was knocked down. He heard Naruto shift.

"Sheesh....No matter how many times I warn you, Naruto, you still keep getting in my way..." Sasuke muttered.

"Sasuke! You..." Naruto trailed off however as Sasuke hacked up blood.

Sasuke glanced shakily back at Naruto. "Now get that stupid look off your face...You dumbass!"

Naruto stared in shock. "Wh-why?!"

'Why...?' Sasuke thought, remembering everything that he and Naruto'd done together. 'You ask me why....?' Sasuke smirked. "I used to HATE you, you know..."

"Why...Why did you...? Why....me?" Naruto stuttered. Sasuke didn't respond. He just kept smiling. "YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST MINDED YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!!" Naruto screamed.

"...How should I know...? My body just...moved on its own...dobe." Sasuke mumbled, feeling his life slip away. He fell backwards, only to get caught by Naruto. He looked at Naruto. "I swore I wouldn't die until I killed him...my older brother...thought the oath would save me...but...." Sasuke's eyes began to slip close. "But don't you dare die..." His voice trailed off and his eyes closed, a sigh of breath escaping him.

* * *

Something was wrong. Arai looked towards the ice mirror dome as a terrible sense of foreboding came to her. It was so quiet.

Then...IT happened.

IT washed over her, overpowering all her senses. She noticed that the older ninja looked towards the dome as well. 'Naruto...' She thought and clutched her head as power unwillingly rose within her. 'The kyuubi...'

Her body shuddered. Her eyes flickered, her sharingan changing. A growl erupted from her, startling Sakura.

"Arai...?" Sakura asked, reaching towards her. Arai stepped away.

'No!' She thought as the two adults now turned to her, their eyes widening slightly. 'Not now! I can't allow this to happen!!' She looked around and finally decided on something extreme- her only escape.

Arai ran and toppled over the side of the bridge.**

* * *

**

A/N: Okay I'm not going to type the next part of the battle because like I said, it's from Arai's and Sasuke's POVs. With Sasuke knocked out and Arai off the bridge the story will skip to the next part: looking for Arai. Understand? Good. I don't want any people bugging me about it.

**R&R!!!**


	7. Shock!

**A/N: Ugh, sorry it's taken so long to update. I'm actually pretty far ahead in this. The problem is: I've just been too lazy to update. ^-^' Sorry!**

*Lub dub* "Ar.....!"

'What is that....?' *lub dub*

"Ara....i....!"

'Where....am I? Who's calling me...?'

*Lub Dub*

'Am I....'

"Arai..! Wh...r...ou...?!"

'Dead....?'

* * *

Sasuke searched frantically with the rest of the village, searching for his missing teammate and future daughter. He glared slightly as he remembered what Sakura had told them.

***Flashback***  
Gatou and his goons were defeated. Zabuza and Haku were dead. Sasuke was alive. The village had won.

Sasuke sat in silence as Sakura and Kakashi pulled out needles and patched up his wounds. Naruto watched, silent as well. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, noticing the boy was staring heavily at him. Naruto's face tinted slightly and he glanced away towards Sakura.

When the bandages were in place, Kakashi helped Sasuke stand. "Well! It seems everything has worked out quite nicely."

Sakura sniffled slightly, making the group turn to her. "N-not qu-quite." She sobbed.

"What happened, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, rushing over to comfort her.

"It's-it's..." Sakura sobbed again. "It's Arai-chan." The males all stiffened.

"What happened?" Kakashi demanded.

"She-she...I don't know....She just suddenly started shaking. I tried to see what was wrong but she pushed me away and then....and then..."

"And then?!" Sasuke asked.

"And then she fell off the bridge!" Sakura wailed and covered her face with her hands. Naruto ran to the side of the bridge.

"She...she couldn't have survived..." Naruto whispered, his eyes wide. Sasuke stared.

'No...She can't be dead...' He thought.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called. The blonde turned to him. "Inform the villagers! See if they can help us search!" Naruto nodded and dashed off towards the celebrating villagers. "Sasuke and Sakura, we are going to search. Spread out." Both ninja nodded and disappeared.

***End***

Sasuke glanced at his companion, Naruto. The boy had a determined and worried frown on his face. The two sped up.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked. Sasuke didn't reply. "What do you think happened to Arai-chan?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know. I'm hoping this was some part of her plan." The two stayed silent for a moment before returning to calling Arai's name.

* * *

It was dark. Arai looked around. 'Where am I?' She wondered. She didn't understand how she got there. It was pitch black, and yet she could still see her whole body. It fascinated her.

And then a light appeared. Arai blinked, blinded momentarily. The light was blinding, but it was warm. It was calling out to her. She'd just taken a step, when she heard a faint voice.

"I found her!" Arai glanced around, unsure of where the voice came from. She was completely alone with the light.

"She needs CPR!!" Another voice cried. Arai ignored it this time. Obviously they weren't talking about her. She was breathing just fine. She walked towards the light, interested by it. She took a few steps when suddenly a figure appeared in the light.

Arai couldn't see the face, but she could see details. She saw enough to know that it was a blonde-headed man. 'Naruto...?' She wondered. She took another step, excited at the chance to see one of her close friends again when the man shook his head. Arai stopped.

The man smiled at her and lifted his arm, pointing to some place behind her. Arai turned and saw her friends, past and future. They were calling out to her, begging her to come back. She didn't understand. What was so wrong with going into the light? Was it evil?

Then she saw her mom, and Arai remembered everything. 'I'm dying!' She realized. Arai turned and ran back to her friends and family. She glanced back over her shoulder one time and saw the man fade with the light, his smile was the last thing she saw before she woke up.

Water sputtered from her mouth. She felt like she was still drowning. Instinctively she rolled onto her hands and knees and coughed up the rest of the water. She only faintly heard the cheering near-by. She shivered as the last of the water left her body and she eagerly gulped down air. A blanket was thrown over her and she felt herself being lifted up before she passed out.

* * *

A few days later, team seven minus Sakura sat in Kakashi's room. Arai sweat-dropped at the intense stares she was receiving; one of them being a glare. None of them had believed her when she told them that the whole falling off the bridge thing happened because she got a huge headache and accidentally slipped.

"Well?" Sasuke demanded when Arai didn't answer.

"Er...I wasn't lying?" Arai mentally cursed herself for making her answer sound like a question. She received another glare in response. She sighed. "Okay, okay. Look, remember how I was out for a few days when I first arrived, Sasuke?" She asked.

"Yes...?" Sasuke said.

"Well I'm pretty sure this was another side-effect." She lied.

"Falling off the bridge was a side-effect?" Naruto asked, somewhat stupidly. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"No..." Arai bit her lip. "I wasn't lying when I said that I got a huge headache and fell off the bridge." That much was true; except for the fact that she JUMPED off the bridge. They seemed to believe her.

Arai watched sadly as they got up to leave. She hated lying. Her parents taught her not to lie to them because she knew she could go to them or any of their friends for help. She grew up protected, but was still given a free will to do whatever.

She could almost feel her parents disappointment. 'It was for a good cause!' Arai thought defensively even though she was just arguing with her imagination. 'This is to protect the future!'

* * *

Two weeks after the battle...

Team seven, Tazuna's family, and the boatsman all stood in front of the completed bridge.

"Thanks to you, the bridge is completed but it's going to be awfully dull around here, once you're gone." Tazuna thanked them.

"We've enjoyed your hospitality." Kakashi thanked them back.

"No problemo, Tazuna, my man! We'll come back and play again some time!" Naruto smiled.

"You better...." Inari sniffled, close to tears. Naruto bit his lip, trying not to cry himself.

"Inari...Don't let it get you down. You can cry, if you really want." Naruto said to cover up his growing sadness.

"I'M NOT GOING TO CRY!!" Inari yelled. "B-but Naruto, hey, nii-san! ...Y-you can cry! Go ahead!"

Naruto turned away. "Me? No way. See ya." The rest of the team followed. Arai couldn't help but giggle as Inari and Naruto both started crying, but tried to hide it.

"Idiots." Sasuke murmured from next to her as Naruto began telling them what he would do when they got home.

Sakura turned to Sasuke. "S-so...um...Sasuke-kun? Would you like to go out with me when we get back?"

Sasuke frowned. "Um....No thanks."

"Hey! I'LL go out with you!" Naruto suggested.

"NARUTO! NO! Knock it off!" Sakura punched him in the head. Arai had to hide her snort at their antics. However when Naruto started laughing, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She laughed loudly with the blonde boy. Pretty soon almost everyone was laughing with them.

* * *

Arai walked by herself as the sun slipped below the horizon. She sighed lightly and gazed at the sky. These days seemed to be getting longer and longer. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her friends. She wanted...to see her parents. A silent tear slid down her face.

"Arai-chan?" Arai paused and turned to see Naruto running towards her. She quickly wiped her eyes. He came up to her and placed his arms behind his head. "What are you doing out this late?"

Arai smiled lightly. "Just taking a walk." Naruto looked around.

"No Sasuke?" The boy wondered with a frown. "He's usually with you."

Arai gave a small, breathy laugh. "Yeah, usually. He's probably training." Naruto nodded. He gazed at her.

"Are you okay? You seem down." He said.

She shook her head. "I'm just homesick." She gazed at the sky again. "I miss going into my house and seeing my mom filing paperwork and my dad cooking. Or walking in and accidentally catching them having a private moment..."

Naruto made a face. "'Private moment'? Isn't that kinda embarrassing?" She blushed.

"Not anything inappropriate!" She shook her hands in front of her. "My parents don't often have a....erm...romantic moment? often. You know, like staring into each others' eyes lovingly...cuddling....That stuff."

"Oh!" Naruto nodded in understanding. "I can see that. Sasuke doesn't seem the type to do that."

Arai grinned. "Yeah, he doesn't. In my time he does a little, though." She sighed. "My dad's a great man."

"...." Naruto kept silent. "I'm sure your mom's a great woman too." He murmured, a bit of sadness seeping in.

Arai pretended not to notice and snickered. "Yeah, yeah. But only in my mother's own way." They walked in a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"Arai-chan? What's my relationship with Sasuke in the future?" Naruto asked.

"You're best friends."

"Anything...more?" It came out a a soft squeak.

Arai narrowed her eyes slightly, suspicious. "Why?" Naruto shook his head, a red tint on his cheeks.

"Just wondering." The Uchiha smirked, having a feeling of what the boy was 'just wondering' about.

"Come on." She said after about an hour of the two walking and chatting. "I'm hungry. Wanna get some ramen?"

Naruto placed his hands behind his head. "Hell yeah!" The two raced towards Ichiraku's.

* * *

A figure watched in silence as the Uchiha female raced a yelling Uzumaki boy. His white ANBU mask rested on his face, making it the only part of his outfit the stuck out in the night. The man pulled his black cloak around him more as a breeze blew it and frowned at the sight.

The girl he was watching glanced in his direction and he ducked down, missing her line of sight. Arai frowned and said something to Naruto but kept walking with him, glancing back one more time in the man's direction. The figure disappeared in a small whirl of leaves.

* * *

Team seven walked home together after another mission. Sasuke could see that Arai was sad. She lagged behind and hardly helped in missions....well she helped less then she usually did. He frowned, sensing someone watching him. He glanced back as Arai looked around.

The girl scowled. "What's wrong?" Sasuke's murmured.

"Someone's been watching me since last night." She muttered looking around. Right then a kunai landed in front of the group, causing the team to be on guard. Arai responded by pulling out her own kunai to toss in the direction of the first kunai when suddenly a figure appeared, grabbing her arm from behind.

Naruto pulled out his own kunai and jumped at the ANBU mask wearing man as Sasuke attacked. Both were blocked, however. The figure kicked Sasuke in the stomach as he used his other hand to punch Naruto, sending the two boys flying. Arai kicked her leg out behind her and kicked the man in the shin, jumping away.

Sasuke sat up with a cough and saw the newcomer and Arai staring each other down. "You're coming with me." The man said. Sasuke scowled.

Arai's eyes widened. "No way..." She whispered. The man took a step forward and the girl tensed. "There's no way you could be...." Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"...Dad?"

* * *

**A/N: OMFG it's Arai's dad! OoO Oh dear lord what'll happen next?? **


	8. Arai's dad!

Everyone's eyes widened. "D-dad?" Naruto asked.

The man turned his head to glance at him. Arai ran forward and slammed him into a hug. The man gave a small 'oof'. "I can't believe it's you!" Arai looked at him. "How'd you find me?"

Her father gazed at her through his mask. "It's not hard to find out how you've been screwing with my past."

"Past?" Sakura asked. The group ignored her.

"Are you really Sasuke?" Naruto asked, running up to them. Kakashi and younger Sasuke joined them. Sakura looked completely lost.

The man nodded. "I see Arai hasn't tried to keep it a secret." Arai stuck her tongue out at him. Sasuke stared at his older self. So he was an ANBU, was he?

"Well this is certainly an interesting development." Kakashi commented.

"I don't understand!" Sakura yelled, making the group turn to her. "What are you guys talking about? How is he Sasuke-kun?" Sakura pointed at Arai's father.

"You don't know?" Older Sasuke asked.

Arai scratched the back of her head. "I was hoping nobody else would find out." She turned to Sakura. "This is a long story so why don't we head back to Sasuke's house?" She suggested. Younger Sasuke shrugged and led the way.

When they got inside Arai sat down with her father and Naruto on the couch while younger Sasuke stood with Kakashi and Sakura sat in the armchair. Sakura waited as the ANBU reached up and took of his mask.

The years had been good to Sasuke. His hair was only somewhat longer and still styled the same. His outfit was a simple black tee and black jeans along with the katana from his younger years was strapped to his back. He still had the slim built of his younger self but with more muscles. The only real distinct difference about Sasuke (besides the fact that he's older) was his eyes. They weren't the desolate eyes of a troubled boy but the eyes of an experianced man who was happy.

Sakura wasn't the only one who stared.

Sasuke looked at his older self along with everyone else in the room. He didn't miss the happy look in the man's eyes.

Arai sighed. "Okay enough gawking at my father." Naruto and Sakura blushed lightly and looked away. "So this is what happened...I came back from the future using a forbidden jutsu."

"Which she stole." Her father said with a disapproaving frown.

"Yeah." Arai grinned sheepishly. "I came back in time to save my mother, who's dying from an illness. The cure isn't in the future but it's here in the past."

Older Sasuke sighed. "That's the reason you came back? I thought I told you I'd deal with it."

"And what exactly was your plan?" She asked.

The man shook his head. "I talked it over with your mother and we decided...to just let nature take its course."

"WHAT?!" Arai yelled and jumped up. "You're going to let mom die?!"

"Arai, it's the only way." Sasuke said and stood to look at his daughter.

"No it isn't!" Arai objected. "That's why I'm here! We can stay and-"

"We can't go messing with the past. You could change the-"

"I'm not going to! I haven't yet and-"

"I'm NOT arguing with you over this!" Older Sasuke said, his voice saying that it was final. "We are going home."

Arai's eyes filled with angry tears. "You don't care about mom at all!" She said, her voice shocked and betrayed.

"You know that's not true." Sasuke said, his face sad. "I don't want your mother to die either."

"Then why are you trying to stop me from saving-"

"Because I don't want to change the good times I've already had with my family!" Sasuke growled. "If your mom is meant to die, then so be it. I just means it was meant to happen."

Tears spilled Arai's face. "I HATE YOU!!" She screamed, making everyone jump and her father's eyes widened. She turned and ran out the door yelling, "If you won't save mom, then I will!!"

They all stood in shocked silence and then Naruto ran out after Arai. Older Sasuke fell back onto the couch, face in his hands. "She doesn't understand..." He whispered.

Younger Sasuke glared at him. "You're pathetic. I don't know what changed me in the future but whatever it is sucked." He said scathingly and then ran out the door as well. Kakashi didn't say anything as he soon followed deciding it best to fill out the mission report.

Sakura walked over to older Sasuke and sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around him in a hug. "It's okay, Sasuke-kun."

"She doesn't understand..." Sasuke whispered again and laid his hands in his lap. "There's a reason why this happened."

"What are you saying, that this is fate?" Sakura asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't know..."

"Sasuke, why don't you want to save your wife?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment. "Sakura...I've been alive for a while now and I've seen people die. It's just life. People are dying as we speak. That's just how it is...." Sasuke's eyes displayed the pain he was in.

Sakura watched sadly for a moment. "Think about it like this: if you had a chance to go back in time and save your parents, would you?" The man nodded. "Then don't you think Arai would too?" Sasuke was silent again, thinking. He turned to look at Sakura, a small smile making its way onto his face.

"Sometimes I forget how smart you are." He sighed. "Go help find Arai, Sakura. I have some thinking to do." Sakura nodded and left. Sasuke stared at a picture of him and his family when he was little. 'Sometimes...' He thought. "Sometimes you seem too smart...'

* * *

Arai punched the tree repeatedly, her eyes overflowing with tears and her fists bloody. 'I hate him.' She growled. 'I hate him. I hate him. I HATE HIM!!' With a chakra powered punch, her fist went straight through the tree and burst from the other side. She ripped her fist out and stared coldly at her bloodied arm that was full of splinters.

"Arai-chan?" Arai turned to glare at the voice. Naruto flinched slightly. Her eyes softened.

"Oh...Hey, Naruto." She murmured and watched the blood slowly run down her arm. Her fists were already healing.

"A-are you okay?" Naruto asked and walked up to her, staring wide-eyed at the hole in the tree.

"No." She pouted angrily. "I can't believe my father."

"I'm sure he has a good reason-"

"No he doesn't!" She yelled. "You heard his lame ass excuses! He doesn't care for me or my mother! He just wants to wait until my mom dies!" Angry tears rolled down her cheeks again and she ripped out the splinters in her arm, not caring about the pain she caused.

Naruto walked up to her. "Arai, I know Sasuke and obviously he does care for you. He wouldn't just give up on someone he loves that easily."

Arai laughed bitterly. "So what are you saying, that he doesn't love my mom? I'd agree with that."

"No!" Naruto yelled and shook his head. "That's not what I'm saying at all!"

"It doesn't matter anyway." Arai murmured. "I'm not going back with him and I'm not forgiving him."

"I agree with you." A new voice said and the two turned to greet the younger Sasuke. "I don't know what's happened to me, but that's not the man I want to be when I grow older." Arai looked away.

"Don't agree with her, bastard!" Naruto yelled at Sasuke. "You need to convince her to get along with her dad again!"

"Why should I? My older self is spineless." Sasuke growled.

"He is not!" Naruto screamed at him and tackled Sasuke, trying to punch him. Sasuke fought back.

Arai stared at her bloodied arm and watched as it healed. Her father...spineless? She wasn't so sure that was the word for it....it was more like...like.....'Like he's a coward. He's afraid of changing the past to even save my mom.....'

"Arai..." Arai tensed and glared at her father as he stood next to her. "Come with me so we can talk." She looked away towards the two still fighting boys.

"Why? So you can knock me out while nobody else is around and take me home? I'll just come back to the past. I've already memorized the jutsu."

"No." Sasuke said, watching the boys as well. "I just want to talk."

"Then we can just talk right here." She said stubbornly. Sasuke sighed.

"I can't convince you to come home, ne?" Arai shook her head. "You have your mother's stubborness." He said somewhat fondly. Arai's lips twitched. "Then I guess I can't force you so I'll just have to stay here with you."

The girl's eyes widened and she turned to her father. "Wha...? Really?" Sasuke smirked.

"I can't have my daughter running around in my past, ne?" Arai hugged him quickly.

"WHOA!!" Came a yell and something suddenly slammed into older Sasuke, knocking him and the item down. Naruto groaned and sat up only to come face to face with Arai's father. He blushed and crawled off. "Ah! I'm sorry, Sasuke!" The older Sasuke gazed at him and smirked, making Naruto's face turn redder.

* * *

"So you two are on good terms again?" Naruto asked while the group was back at Sasuke's house. Arai nodded.

"As long as dad doesn't try to take me back to our time before I get the cure then I'm fine."

"Fine." Sasuke said and stood. "Arai, we have to get to bed. We have a mission tomorrow."

"That reminds me..." Naruto said and turned to older Sasuke. "Where are you going to sleep, Sasuke?" The man thought about it.

"I suppose I could sleep on the couch..." Then he and his younger self shook his head. "Nevermind."

"You can stay at my house!" Naruto suggested. The Uchihas all blinked in surprise.

"Do you have enough room?" Arai asked. "Your apartment is kinda small."

Naruto nodded. "I have an extra futon so you can stay at my house." Arai's father stood.

"That's fine with me." He said and then glanced at his daughter. "I'll be here tomorrow at the usual time, okay?" Arai nodded. "Lead the way, Naruto." Sasuke said and Naruto grinned, heading out the door with the man following.

* * *

Sasuke woke up the next morning to the warm smell of breakfast floating into his room. He sat up and stretched slightly before climbing out of bed and beginning his morning routine of getting dressed and fixing his hair. He climbed downstairs shortly after. Arai and his older self stood in the kitchen, Arai grabbing some milk out of the fridge and older Sasuke cooking, as Sasuke came downstairs.

Arai looked at him when he came in. "Good morning, Sasuke!" She greeted. He nodded at her and grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard.

"How long have you been here?" He asked his older self.

"About an hour." The man responded, flipping the french toast over in the pan. Sasuke grunted in response and went to pour his cereal. "I made some for you too." He heard, and paused. Sasuke put back his stuff and waited at the table.

"So!" Arai sat down at the table, chocolate milk in hand. "What's the scheduale for today?"

"Same thing as usual, I suppose." Sasuke said, giving the chocolate milk a look. He never particuarly liked sweets. He couldn't help but wonder where the chocolate came from.

"Well I won't be joining you." Arai took a few gulps of her drink and sighed. "I've grown a little rusty from just training all the time."

Arai's father snorted. "Excuses." He said.

"It is not an excuse!" Arai said, offended.

THe man put the finished french toast onto a plate and put them on the table along with other dishes and silverware. "You'll use any excuse to get out of D-rank missions. You're just like your mother."

"I'll take that as a compliment! You know mom is the best!" Arai stabbed some toast and brought it to her plate.

"Not the best. Your mother hasn't beaten me yet." Older Sasuke smirked. Younger Sasuke scowled to himself. He hated how these two talked about this mysterious woman. He wanted to know who she was.

* * *

Sasuke finished getting ready and left the house, ready to meet his team. He wasn't very excited about the mission, but whatever. What he really wanted was to stay home and fight his older self, or at least Arai. He still hasn't been able to fight her.

Sakura was already there waiting for him when he arrived. "Oh! Good morning, Sasuke-kun! Has Arai made up with...her dad?"

Sasuke nodded. "The two have taken over my house." Sakura giggled. THey sat mostly in silence for the next few minutes when they heard a call.

"Good morning!!! Sakura-chan!!!" Naruto yelled as he ran up. His and Sasuke's eyes met. They glared for a moment and then looked stubbornly away from each other. Apparently the two hadn't gotten over their fight from yesterday. But then again, Sasuke hadn't noticed that Naruto'd been acting weird ever since Wave Country...

Three hours later Kakashi arrived. "Hey guys! I got lost..." His excuse was cut off by his students minus Sasuke yelling at him.

After that was over, Naruto ran up to him. "Hey hey!!! Kakashi-sensei!! Lately all of our missions have been too easy!!! I want a more, you know, hot one! Where I can shine!! Something that follows my ninja path and..." His eyes burned with energy.

"Yeah yeah. I already know what you're going to say." Kakashi sighed, ignoring the boy. He turned and motioned for the team to follow him. Sasuke caught Naruto's glare directed at him and made a bit of a face.

'Tch. Baka.' He thought.

* * *

During the mission Naruto pushed himself too much and ended up beaten up. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the boy's stupidity as Sakura helped carry Naruto back.

"It's because you push yourself too much!" Sakura scolded the injured Naruto.

"Pfft. Can't you take care of yourself?" Sasuke taunted.

Naruto snapped. "GODDAMMNIT!! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!!" He screamed at the Uchiha.

"Stop it or I'll kick YOUR ass!!" Sakura screamed back. Sasuke turned away with a scoff.

"Hmmm...Your teamwork seems to be suffering lately." Kakashi commented, exasperated.

"YEAH!! YEAH!! YOU'RE THE ONE RUINING OUR TEAMWORK, SASUKE!! ALWAYS HOGGING THE SPOTLIGHT, TEME!!" Naruto yelled.

"He's talking about you, moron." Sasuke said. "If you want me to stop making you look bad, then why don't you get better than me?" The two glared at each other for a moment, electricity sparking from their eyes.

"Che." Sasuke turned and walked away. He bit the nail of his thumb, angry. 'Damnit. There are guys much stronger than me out there and I'm stuck with doing D-rank missions with these idiots. I need to get stronger.' Perhaps he could convince Arai to fight him today...

Sasuke hadn't walked very far away -far enough to be out of sight, but not far enough to not hear Naruto's yells- when he sensed some strong chakras. He paused. The chakras were near Naruto and Sakura. With narrowed eyes, he ran back and hopped into a near-by tree, watching the action unfold.

There were two, a male and a female. The female was blonde and carried a large folded fan on her back. The male was dressed in black with his hood up and strange make-up on his face. Some type of mummy was carried on his back.

A little boy -probably one of Naruto's friends, Sasuke guessed- ran into the male as Naruto and the three brats ran from an angry Sakura.

"Ow." The male said. He picked up Konohamaru -Sasuke just recognized the Hokage's grandson- but the front of his shirt.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto yelled.

"That hurt, you little piece of crap." The male said.

"Don't." The female warned. "We'll get yelled at later."

"I'm sorry." Sakura apologized, looking nervous. "I was messing around..."

"Hey, fatass!!! Let go of him!" Naruto yelled.

The guy smirked. "Let's play a little before the boss comes." Konohamaru grunted in pain.

"Bastard!!" Naruto charged. The male moved his fingers a bit and suddenly Naruto fell backwords. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. This game just became a little more interesting. After a few choice words from Naruto, the male (no doubt a little pissed) pulled back his fist to punch Konohamaru.

'But harassing little kids isn't good.' Sasuke decided it was time to end this game. Right as the guy swung, Sasuke threw a rock at the hand holding the kid, hitting it dead center. The guy dropped Konohamaru.

"What are you bastards doing in our village?" Sasuke demanded, tossing a few rocks he'd gathered up and down in his hand. Sakura squealed his name.

"Ah, another guy who pisses me off." The male said.

"Get lost." Sasuke responded. Sakura sqealed again about how cool he was. Even the brats were admiring him.

"Hey get down here! I hate guys like you the most!" The male said.

"Hey, don't!" The female said.

"Kankuro, stop it." Sasuke started with wide eyes as another voice was heard from right next to him. They turned to him. The boy had redish-brown hair and carried a large gourd on his back. "You're an embarrassment to our village." He said.

Kankuro and the female both looked nervously at him. "Ga-Gaara." Kankuro said.

'Him...? When did he?' Sasuke thought. 'That's Kakashi level sneakiness...' Gaara scolded the male again while Kankuro tried to defend himself.

"Shut up. I'll kill you." Sasuke shivered at the deadly aura coming from Gaara. The other two began to apologize profusely.

'So this ones the leader...He has strange eyes.' Sasuke thought, on guard.

"Sorry to you guys." Gaara said and disappeared in a whirl of leaves. He reappeared behind his teammates. "Let's go."

"Hey wait!" Sakura called. The three turned back around. "Judging from your headbands, you three are from the village hidden in the sand, right? You may be allies of the leaf, but it is forbidden for other village ninja to enter without permission. State your business. Depending on it, we may not be able to let you go..."

The female laughed. "Talk about clueless." She brought out her pass. "Don't you know anything? You're right, we are genin from the sand. We're here to take the Chunin Selection Exam."

"Huh?" Naruto asked confused. The female explained. Naruto gave up after a bit, hearing he could become a chunin.

Sasuke jumped down from the tree. "Hey, you, what's your name?" THe female blushed.

"Huh? You mean me?"

"No. You with the gourd."

"Gaara of the desert." The boy replied. "I'm also interested in you, your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke smirked. The two stared each other down, seizing each other up in the process.

"Hey! What about me?" Naruto asked.

"Not interested. Let's go." Gaara turned and the three disappeared.

'Heh...things are getting interesting.' Sasuke thought.

* * *

"Gaara of the desert?" Arai asked. She sat at Naruto's house with her father and teammates.

"Yeah!! Yeah!!" Naruto yelled, leaning over older Sasuke to look at Arai. "He was really creepy! He carried a gourd on his back and had black around his eyes. OH!! And he had no eyebrows!!" Naruto pointed at his own eyebrows.

Older Sasuke rubbed his ear. "Naruto, you're too loud. I get enough of your yelling in the future as it is." Naruto leaned back.

"Sorry, Sasuke." He muttered.

"How do you do that?" Sakura asked, slightly awed. "We can never get him to shut up."

"Awww!! Sakura-chan!!" Naruto whined. Arai laughed as her father chuckled.

"Years of practice." He said. "You'll get it after a while."

"How long is 'a while'?" Younger Sasuke asked. "I'd prefer he'd keep his mouth shut now."

"Watch it, teme!" Naruto yelled. "I'll kick your ass."

"I'd like to see you try." Sasuke taunted. Naruto growled, about to launch himself across the room, when older Sasuke grabbed the back of the boy's jacket.

"Sit down, shut up, and stay." He commanded, sighing. Naruto stood up, ignoring Sasuke's commands, but was only forced down again. "Sit down, shut up, and STAY." He repeated, a little more forcefully this time. Naruto pouted and crossed his arms, but did as he was told.

Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widened a little. "How do you DO that?!" Sakura demanded, more than shocked by this.

"I had the same problem with Arai as she grew up. Hanging around Naruto has effected her personality quite a bit."

"That's not true! You said I was a quiet child!" Arai objected.

"You were, but that doesn't mean you didn't attack people." Older Sasuke shook his head, remembering. "But back to the point at hand." He waved his hand a bit. "The Chuunin Exams are here?"

"Yeah. The sand ninja were telling us about it." Sakura explained.

"I see." Older Sasuke laid his head back and closed his eyes in thought. Arai knew what he was thinking about.

"Well no time like the present (no pun intended)." She said as she stood. "We'd better get home, Sasuke."

"Will we be joining the exams?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the girl and instead focusing on his older self.

"No doubt you'll be hearing from Kakashi soon." The man didn't open his eyes. He'd trained with Arai all day and was exhausted.

"Hn." Sasuke stood. "Arai, let's spar."

Arai rolled her arms. All the training she did made her a bit sore, but Sasuke had been wanting to spar with her for quite a while. "Sure. If I win, you treat me to as much ramen as I want."

"Fine." Sasuke smirked, excited.

The other Sasuke scoffed lightly. "As I recall, I didn't really like ramen at that age..." He said to himself, smiling.

"Ah! Sasuke-kun, may I walk with you guys?" Sakura asked as she joined them. They shrugged and led the way out.

* * *

**A/N: Holy crap. Two in one day? JNCENACSKNRO!! It's a SIGN!!! Well now you guys are all caught up. **


	9. And the Mother Is

**A/N: Okay I know it's been a LONG time, I'm sure. Sorry. ^-^' WELL! Here's the next chapter. Kind of short and sweet, I guess. At least it's an update. You finally get to know who the mother is! :D No flames if you don't like.**

**--**

"Sasuke!!" Older Sasuke looked up from where he sat on Naruto's couch, studying the boy's few scrolls he had laying around the house. Naruto burst in through his living room door grinning from ear to ear. "Sasuke!"

"I'm right here. No need to yell." Sasuke placed his scroll to the side, knowing he'll get no more reading done now.

Naruto hopped over and onto the seat next to Sasuke and shoved a sheet of paper in his face. "Look!"

Sasuke took the paper and read it quickly. "Ah." He gave the paper back. "I told you that you'd be able to."

"I know!" Naruto grinned, excited. "I can't wait! What'll you think it'll be like? Do you think there'll be strong ninja there? I hope that creepy kid with no eyebrows will be there!" Then Naruto paused, catching Sasuke's bemused look. "Oh, that's right!" He leaned onto Sasuke. "You've already been there! Tell me what will happen!!"

Sasuke shook his head. "No. I can't give anything away." Naruto pouted and crossed his arms.

"You and Arai's stupid rules." He muttered, sullen. Sasuke sighed and tussled the boy's hair.

"Don't worry; you'll find out tomorrow." Naruto was silent, reading over the forum he was given. Sasuke picked up his scroll too.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked after a few minutes. Sasuke made a small noise. Naruto looked at him. "Can you…you know?" Sasuke sighed lightly and did the hand signs to transform into his younger self. Naruto had an issue with talking to him in his adult form. This didn't really bother Sasuke, though. He didn't mind.

"Better?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah." Naruto grinned. The two were silent again before Naruto asked, "Can you tell me who your wife is?"

Sasuke paused in his reading and looked at him. "Naruto, you know I can't do that."

"But why not?" Naruto complained. "I won't tell anyone!"

"It'll change the future." Sasuke said simply. "You can't know. It's not a matter of you telling that's the problem."

"Please??" Naruto gave him a puppy pout. Sasuke looked away.

"No, Naruto." He sighed. He hated it when Naruto tried to pull the puppy pout out.

"Is she pretty?"

"What is this, Twenty Questions?"

"Just answer me!" Naruto demanded.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It depends on your definition of pretty."

"Is she our age?"

"Give or take." Sasuke decided it best to beat around the bush. He couldn't let Naruto guess right. He watched the boy though, unable to stop.

"Does she like animals?"

"Yes."

"What's her favorite food?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Not telling." 'God the way he looks at me like that…'

"Fine." Naruto pouted.

Sasuke's hands curled into a fist, restraining himself.

"Is Arai like her, at least?"

Sasuke nodded. 'Shit. It's been too long…'

"Does she love you now?"

Sasuke gave a breathy laugh. "I don't know. My wife never told me when she fell for me. She doesn't remember." Naruto tilted his head side to side, thinking. 'Maybe…Maybe it'll be okay to tell him…' Sasuke scooted closer.

"Does she have Arai's personality?" Sasuke flexed his fingers as he nodded.

"Does she have short hair now?" Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. He snapped.

Sasuke brought his face next to Naruto's ear. "Do you really want to know who my wife is?" Naruto's face flushed a bright red as Sasuke's breath tickled his ear.

"Y-yes…" Naruto breathed.

Sasuke brought himself to face him, smirking. "It's you." He whispered.

"Wha-" Sasuke give Naruto time to speak though and pushed him back, kissing him fiercely. He ran a hand into Naruto's hair.

'Too long.' Sasuke thought as he licked Naruto's lips. 'It's been far too long…' Naruto responded eagerly, opening his mouth. Sasuke opened his eyes and gazed at his wife lovingly. His blonde bangs covered those beautiful blue eyes he loved. Naruto gripped Sasuke's shirt and mewed at the other man's touch. Sasuke shifted them, settling in between Naruto's legs. He switched to attacking Naruto's neck.

He growled lightly, wanting his wife's hokage robes off- now. He helped the man out of it quickly before placing kisses along his neck. Naruto ran a hand into Sasuke's hair, whimpering as the man bit down. Sasuke ran a hand up Naruto's shirt.

'That's strange…' Sasuke thought to himself. 'Where'd all of Naruto's abs go…?' Sasuke reopened his eyes and saw the younger Naruto, jacket unzipped and open wide and huffing from the activities. Sasuke's eye widened in realization and was off the boy in a moment, slammed against the opposite wall and covered his mouth. His jutsu disappeared, leaving only the older Sasuke. 'Shit.' He thought. He'd kissed Naruto. He'd kissed his younger wife. This was bad. This was real bad.

Naruto sat up, his face flushed and his eyes filled with lust. Sasuke shuddered, every part of his body wanting to say 'Screw it!' and screw Naruto. "Sasuke? What's wrong?"

Sasuke snapped out of his shock and shook his head. "Oh, god, Naruto. I shouldn't have done that." Naruto stared at him in hurt and confusion. Sasuke didn't regret saying it, though he was sorry he'd hurt Naruto's feelings. "Naruto, I'm married and...Damnit I'm in the past! What if what I did had affected the future?" He thought back of his past, going one by one to make sure nothing had been altered. Naruto was his wife...they had a child. Arai...

Both Sasuke's and Naruto's eyes widened at the same time as they thought the same thing at the same time: "Shit, Arai!" They both scrambled to get themselves together (as in, fix their clothing) and then took off out the door.

Arai sat with Sasuke on the couch watching t.v. She looked at her younger father and smiled. "Are you excited about tomorrow?" She asked.

Sasuke looked down at the forum that he had to fill out. "Excited? I suppose." He looked at her. "Will you be joining us?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Doubt it. I'm technically -as far as everyone else is concerned- a 'teacher'. Teachers aren't allowed to help their students in the Chuunin Exams. I may get to see later, though." It was then the door suddenly busted open, scaring both Sasuke and Arai. They jumped up, kunais in hand.

Older Sasuke stood huffing with Naruto. They looked frantically around the room before laying eyes on Arai. Older Sasuke immediately relaxed at the sight but Naruto ran over and tackled her into a hug.

"You're alive!" Naruto yelled, squeezing her.

"Not...for long!" She gasped. Naruto released her. "Now...what do you mean, 'You're alive'?" Naruto didn't say anything, just blushed a little. She looked at him and then gasped before looking at her father. "You hypocrite!" She yelled.

Older Sasuke looked away, hiding his shame. "It slipped out." 'Yeah, slipped out.' He thought bitterly, berating himself, 'One hell of a slip-up.'

"What's going on here?" Younger Sasuke asked, looking around the group. None of them said anything for a long moment and then Arai spoke up.

"It appears that Naruto has just discovered the biggest butterfly." She said. Sasuke shot a glare to Naruto and then to his older self.

"So Naruto gets to know but not me." He said.

His older self looked at him. "He found out on his own." He lied smoothly. Sasuke turned and walked upstairs, angered.

Arai and her father stared intensely at Naruto as he hummed and prepared his ramen. They sat on his couch, not saying anything. This had been going on for the past few minutes. Arai lost patience and couldn't take it anymore.

"Aren't you going to ask us any questions?" She demanded.

Naruto jumped, surprised by the sudden outburst. He turned to them sheepishly. "Um..." He blushed a deep shade, looking at Sasuke. Arai followed his gaze.

"I suppose I have my own question first, then." She stood in front of her father and put her hands on hips, glaring. "How the hell did Naruto find out our secret?"

Sasuke kept a straight face. "I told you: he found out on his own."

"Bullshit!" Arai yelled. Sasuke kind of wished she hadn't gotten her mom's mouth. Or, for that fact, his and Naruto's combined tempers. "Tell me the truth, dad!"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who didn't say anything, and then looked back at his daughter. He sighed in defeat. "Two months without your mother is very frustrating..." He said.

Arai's eyes widened. "You made out with him!" Sasuke looked away. Arai shook her head in disgust. "This is what happens when you have a healthy sex life," she muttered, "you get so used to having it on time and then when you don't you lose control of your libido!"

"Whatever!" She threw her hands up. "Nothing has been changed, thankfully, so I suppose it isn't bad." She turned to Naruto. "You can ask your questions now, since I know that you're dying to."

Naruto took a deep breath. "How did Sasuke start liking me? Am I really your mother? Like, in blood? Did I have you with a woman or did Sasuke? You look more like Sasuke. It was probably him, right? And-"

"Naruto!" Arai yelled. Naruto hushed. "One at a time, please!"

Sasuke smiled lightly, used to younger Naruto much more than Arai. "How I started liking you is from many different things we have done together. Yes, you are Arai's blood mother and I am her blood father. There was no women involved."

"But HOW?" Naruto asked. "I'm not Shikamaru or anything, but I do know that guy plus guy does not equal baby."

Arai grinned. "I'm glad about that." She looked at her father. "You know, even I don't know how I was born."

Sasuke shook his head. "It's complicated...I'll try to shorten and simplify it. With the help of kyuubi, Naruto had made some kind of jutsu that allowed him to form a type of chakra "egg" with his chakra and a "womb" with kyuubi's so that it would be powerful and protective."

Naruto stared. "I can do that?" Sasuke nodded.

"But that doesn't answer me fully. How was I born?" Arai asked.

"They cut Naruto's stomach open." Sasuke said simply. Naruto made a face and held his stomach.

"Sounds painful."

"I'm sure it was." Arai said. "Now that that's all cleared up...I believe we have an upcoming Chuunin Exam."


	10. What's Wrong with Arai?

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while. Had a writer's block for a while now and also have other things to do (LE GASP!) Read, Review, and Enjoy (Yes, enjoy it AFTER you review )**

* * *

Early the next morning, Sakura and Sasuke stood at the front of a shop near the building they would have to turn their applications for the Chuunin Exams in at. Sasuke thought that Sakura was unusually quiet. Just then Naruto ran up, breaking the silence as he yelled his greeting to Sakura. Sakura responded blandly, though with forced happiness.  
Sasuke frowned. 'Sakura…she seems weird today.' He noted.

Naruto suddenly turned his attention to Sasuke. "Yo! Sasuke! Where's Arai and…" Naruto looked around, "_Ryuu_?" Sasuke scowled at the ridiculous name that his older self had allowed Arai to give him to cover up himself being older Sasuke. He was still irked that Naruto knew of the two time-travelers' secret.

"I don't know." Sasuke replied testily, looking away from the bright blonde. "She wasn't there when I woke up. I assumed she was with _Ryuu_." He growled out the last part. His older self was starting to piss him off.

* * *

The three entered the building they were assigned to turn in their papers at and climbed the stairs up to the floor where room 301 waited for them. What they found in front of the room was a group. In front of the group stood two boys, apparently keeping everybody from getting in. They arrived in the group just in time to hear one of the boys end his speech by saying,

"We are just thinning out those who will fail anyway. What's wrong with that?"

Sasuke stepped up. "I agree…but… you will let me through and remove the surrounding you created with genjutsu. I'm going to the third floor." He heard whisperings wondering what he was talking about, but he ignored them.

"Ah…" Said the second boy. "So you noticed." Sasuke smirked.

"Sakura, you must have noticed first, right?" He asked.

"Huh?" Sakura wondered.

Sasuke smiled lightly at her. "Your analytical ability and genjutsu know-how is the most advanced in our team."

Sakura blushed and looked down with a smile. She gave a soft laugh and looked up at the two boys blocking their way, smiling smugly. "Of course, I noticed a while ago because this is the second floor."

"Yup!" Naruto agreed for emphasis. Suddenly the door numbered 301 changed to 201 as the genjutsu was released.

The first boy smirked. "Hmm…not bad. But all you did…" He threw himself down to the ground and aimed a kick at Sasuke, "was see through it!" Sasuke responded with a kick of his own that would've made contact when suddenly a boy they'd seen knocked down earlier appeared between them and caught both of their kicks in his hands. The boy dropped both of their legs after a second.

'Catching my kick with his hands…What's this chakra in his arms?' Sasuke wondered, staring at the bandaged arms. The boy in the green leotard gave a sigh of air as a long haired boy next to him said,

"Hey…What happened to the plan? You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."

"Well…" The bowl-cut one mumbled and glanced at Sakura with a blush on his cheeks. The girl next to them shook her head. The boy suddenly gained a determined look and Sasuke suddenly noticed that the two had lost their injuries that they had acquired earlier.

The boy walked up to Sakura. "Hi. My name is Rock Lee. So yours is Sakura…" The boy winked and grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "Let's go out together! I'll protect you until I die!"

"No…Way…You're lame." Sakura muttered. Lee's head hung itself as Naruto giggled.

Sasuke suddenly caught the long-haired boy's pale eyes and the boy said, "Hey you, what's your name?"

"When you want to learn somebody's name, it's best to give yours first." Sasuke answered.

"You're a rookie, right? How old are you?" The boy continued, ignoring Sasuke's comment.

"I don't have to answer you." Sasuke said and the two turned away from each other. 'Man, there's a bunch of…monsters here.' Sasuke thought to himself.

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun! Let's go!" Sakura called, cheered up now. She grabbed both of the boys' hands and dragged them along. Naruto seemed depressed about one thing or another and Sasuke muttered to the girl not to pull him.

A few moments later they entered a large resting area together when a voice called out, "Hey, guy with the dark eyes!"

The three looked up. Sakura looking disturbed, Naruto confused. Sasuke said, "What is it?"

The kid, Rock Lee, looked down at them from the balcony above them. "Will you fight me right here and now?"

* * *

Arai let out a angry sigh of breath as she gazed out the window next to her and then glared at her father. "Why, dad? I want to join them and help them out!"

Sasuke appeared unmoved by her excuse. "Arai, this is their exam, not yours. You are not allowed to help them. It's three-man squads. And you're a teacher, remember?"

"So?" Arai made a random movement with her arm in frustration. "I want to see what it's like! Can't I at least join them when they enter the Forest of Death? Nobody is watching us then! I'll leave before they enter the tower!"

"No." Sasuke said firmly.

"Why?" Arai demanded.

Sasuke scowled at his persistent daughter and gave his own frustrated growl. "Because it's dangerous and this WILL change the future!"

"I'm jounin level, dad! Kakashi-sensei himself told me!" She motioned to said man who stood reading but no doubt listening to the feud with interest. "It can't possibly be difficult enough for me! Besides you told me all about it in your stories!"

"You obviously forgot one of the key points, however." Sasuke responded coldly. Arai noticed the change in her father's tone. She instantly became wary and serious herself.

"What do you mean?"  
Sasuke swallowed thickly and then murmured, his voice distinctly lower so that Kakashi wouldn't hear, "_He's_ here, remember?"

Arai flinched violently and her eyes widened in pure terror as memories resurfaced for her. Kakashi lowered his book at the sudden change and studied the girl. She trembled and leaned against her father. Sasuke wrapped his arms around her. He hated bringing up that man, but he needed to do so to ensure that his point got across to his daughter.

Kakashi looked at his older student. "This man, is he the one Arai mentioned kidnapped her when she was little?" Sasuke looked at him sharply, not knowing that Arai had told them about that.

"Yes…" He said slowly.  
"And he's here…Hmmm…." Kakashi thought about this seriously. The man must've been terrifying to reduce Arai to trembling. "Who is he?"

Sasuke looked away. "You'll find out soon enough." He answered.

Arai took a shuddery breath and pulled away from her dad. She gazed at him determinedly, though her eyes still had the haunted look in them that she would acquire when she remembered her kidnapper. "I need to face my fear eventually, dad." She said.

Sasuke mentally cursed. "No. Naruto and I killed him for that exact reason; so that you would never have to face your fear. " And that's all he said on the matter, as they heard footsteps coming around the corner.

The rookies of Team Seven appeared and noticed the other three standing there. Sasuke's eyes zeroed in on his future daughter, seeing her normally clear and bright blue eyes clouded and grayish. He glanced at his older self, who caught his gaze, but the man shook his head infinitesimally to tell him not to mention it.

"Oh…So Sakura came too." Kakashi was the first to speak, catching all of their attentions. "Now we all can properly take the exam."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"The truth is that this test can only be taken in groups of three."

"Huh? But you said that the test was our individual choice. You lied to us?"

Kakashi didn't answer for a moment. "If I had told you the truth, Naruto or Sasuke would've pressured you into taking the test. Sasuke could've persuaded you…and Naruto…well…"

"So if only Naruto and Sasuke-kun had shown up?" Sakura asked.

"Then the test would've ended here. They would've not gone on any farther. But you came of your own will. You guys are my proud team." The three genin grinned.

It was then that Naruto realized something was up when he realized that Arai was unusually quiet. The girl was staring off into a world he couldn't see. "Hey! Arai-chan! What's up?"

She started so violently, Sasuke couldn't help but fear that something was extremely wrong. She gazed at them in confusion for a few moments, until her father placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced at him and then visibly relaxed. "Ahh, well you guys do your best, okay?"

"Arai-chan, is something wrong?" Sakura asked hesitantly. Younger Sasuke took a step forward to check on her when his older self spoke,

"She's fine, just a little put out that she can't join you guys." He said. "Good luck." He gently nudged Arai and as the two walked past the group, they heard him murmur, somewhat sadly, "You'll need it."

* * *

The second exam was over, as Iruka had explained a little bit ago, and the genin of Team 7 sat in the same room, resting up a short bit. The second exam was harder than they'd thought, especially for Sasuke. He flinched as a throb of pain ran through him from the curse mark on his shoulder. He then scowled as he remembered that man Orochimaru. He had been the one to do this to him. Sakura gave him a worried glance, but he ignored it.

Naruto groaned in aggravation from where he lay next to Sasuke. "What the hell is taking so long? Iruka-sensei tells us to wait here for a little bit and then two hours passes!"

Sakura shook her head at him, her now-short hair waving behind her. "It's only been about half an hour, Naruto!"

Naruto pouted. "Two hours, half an hour, same difference!" He sat up with a scowl. "The point is that this is taking too long!"

"We should take this chance to rest while we still can." Sasuke muttered. "The third exam may be right after this." Naruto glanced at him in annoyance for not agreeing with him, but accepted Sasuke's explanation. Just then a door opened across the room. The three shinobi stood up, tense, but they realized that Sasuke's older counterpart walk in. Sasuke noticed that the man was extremely tense. He wore a mask similar to Kakashi's, only black instead, over the bottom half of his face to better hide his identity.

Naruto grinned. "Older Sa- I mean, Ryuu!" He yelled.

The man gave him a small smile, but then returned to his tense self. "I'm glad to see you all made it."

"Did you think we wouldn't?" Sakura asked, wondering if something different had happened in the other man's timeline.

'Ryuu' shook his head. "It's not that. I knew you would." His eyes flicked to a camera located in the corner of the room and motioned the genin closer.

"Where's Arai?" Sasuke asked his older self.

"She's with Kakashi and Lord Hokage."

"What was wrong with her?"

Older Sasuke frowned at his younger self's perception skills, but said, "Arai..." He glanced away and then started walking back towards the door, telling them to follow, "I'll explain after I get her back with me. She's not in good shape right now."

"What happened to her?" Naruto asked, worried for the girl. Older Sasuke didn't answer and led them to a large room where many other students were also being led into. The man separated from them and joined the other senseis in the room as well as his daughter. The three lined up in single file and stood next to the other teams as directed.

Sasuke gazed at his future daughter. The girl looked worse off then she had five days ago when they had last seen her. Her face was paler than usual and from the looks of it she was trembling. Her eyes darted back and forth as if she was a caged animal. She had huddled close to her father. Sasuke wondered what was wrong with the girl.

It was then that Anko, the second examiner, stepped forward. "First off, for the second test, congratulations on passing!" Older Sasuke wrapped an arm around his daughter. "Lord Hokage will now explain the third test! Listen carefully!"

The Hokage stepped forward and began explaining the purpose of the test. Arai looked around frantically and locked eyes on the man she feared. He looked slightly different than usual, but Arai knew for sure it was one of his disguises. She bit back a whimper in fear and moved to the other side of her father and closer to Kakashi, knowing that the two would protect her.

Kakashi turned his head slightly to examine the girl, and then follow her line of vision to the sound genins' sensei. He wondered faintly if this was the man who had kidnapped her in her time, but decided to ask questions later. Sasuke had said that he would explain then. Arai looked at Kakashi for a moment and, seeing the significant look in his eye, looked away as the boy she instantly recognized as Gaara spoke,

"I don't care what it is, just hurry up and tell us what this life-risking battle entails." The boy said.

The Hokage answered, "Yes. I'd like to now explain the third test, but…"

"Actually…" A new voice spoke up before giving a cough. A man appeared and kneeled before the Hokage. "I apologize, Lord Hokage…From here on, as the referee, will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate…"

"By all means…" The Hokage said.

The man gave another cough and then spoke, "Hello everyone, I am Hayate." The man continued to cough as he spoke, "Ummm…before the third test there's something I'd like you to do." The genin, and Arai, gazed at the seemingly sick man in confusion. "Ummm…It's a preliminary for the third exam to decided who gets to participate in the main event."

"Preliminary?" Sakura questioned.

"Preliminary? What do you mean?" Shikamaru yelled out.

Sakura looked around Sasuke. "Sensei…I don't understand this preliminary, but why aren't all the people here allowed to participate in the next test?"

Hayate coughed. "Umm…because the first and second test may have been too easy this year…we have a bit too many people remaining…According to Chuunin Exam rules, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the third test."

"No way…" Sakura whispered.

"As Lord Hokage indicated earlier, there will be many guests at the third test." The man went on. "So the fights could take too long, we are limited in time. Ummm…So anyway…those who are not feeling well, those who feel like quitting after these explanations…please come forward now. Since we will be starting the preliminary immediately."

"What? Right now?" Kiba yelled.

Arai flinched as she saw the sound sensei nod. Kabuto raised his hand shyly, "Umm…I'm going to quit."

Sasuke looked at him in shock as Naruto yelled out, "Huh?"

Hayate coughed. "Ummm…You're Yakushi Kabuto-kun from the leaf, right? You may leave now."

"Kabuto-san!" Naruto yelled. "Why are you quitting? Why?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun…but my body is all beat up. Actually, I haven't been able to hear out of my left ear from the time I got attacked by the sound nins before the first test. And now we'll have to risk our live…I just…" Kabuto tried to explain. Naruto looked down.

Arai's father scowled under his mask at the boy. His blood boiled as he remembered how he'd been fooled into thinking Kabuto was a good guy during these exams. Anko and the Hokage talked softly nearby. Kabuto gave a wave to Team 7's genin as he passed by. Naruto pouted.

A wave of pain ran through Sasuke again from his curse mark. He gripped his shoulder. 'Ugh,' He thought angrily, 'The waves of pain are becoming more frequent.' Sakura gave another worried glance to Sasuke.  
(I'm gonna skip a little ahead here….)  
"I thought so…" Hokage murmured as he saw the young Uchiha in pain.

"What should we do?" Ibiki asked.

Anko leaned over next to the old man. "We should remove him from the exam and have the ANBU watching over and protecting him…"

"He's the type that wouldn't easily agree to that…" Kakashi interrupted, smiling, "since he's from the Uchiha clan after all."

"Don't be foolish!" Anko objected. "We will force him to quit! By just releasing chakra the curse becomes active and forcibly pulls out chakra. It's a forbidden jutsu which eats at the user's body."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, right, Ryuu?" Kakashi looked over at Sasuke's older self. The Hokage looked at him as well while Anko gave a confused glance.

Sasuke sighed. "Lord Hokage, please trust me when I tell you that it will be absolutely fine. The curse seal is under his control."

The Hokage sighed as well. "Alright, then allow the boy to continue, but if the curse begins to spread, then jump in and stop him."

"Yes." Ibiki and Anko said. Anko gave a glance at older Sasuke, but said nothing else.

"Then let us begin." Hayate said. The genin all turned their heads as a wall shifted and opened to reveal an electronic board. On it appeared the first contestants, Abumi Zaku and Aburame Shino. Everybody else except for the two contestants.

Kakashi, Arai, and her father appeared next to Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura up on the balcony. Naruto ran up to her. "Arai-chan, are you alright?"

Arai looked away and towards the sound nins' sensei. The man met her gaze and Arai let out a squeak of fear before cowering against her father. "He's here. He's here, dad. Don't let him get me. Please don't let him get me, daddy." She whimpered.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura's eyes all widened at the girl's strange behavior. Older Sasuke kneeled and looked her in the eye. "It's okay, Arai. He's not going to get you. You're safe with us." Arai gave another whimper and buried her face into his chest. Sasuke sighed.

"I believe it's time for you to explain to us exactly what's wrong with Arai, Ryuu." Kakashi said.

The four crowded around the father and daughter. Sasuke looked at them. "Fine, I'll tell you. As you already know, Kakashi, Arai is like this because…the man who had once kidnapped her is here."

"What?" Naruto cried out in shock as Sakura gasped.

"Who?" Younger Sasuke demanded.

His older self looked at him. "You've three have already met him." Sasuke narrowed his eyes as his older self grabbed his daughter's collar and tugged it down enough to reveal her shoulder. The same curse mark Sasuke had on his shoulder was also on hers.

Sakura gasped and whispered as Sasuke growled out, "Orochimaru…" Arai pulled her father closer, her whole frame trembling as Naruto gave them all a confused look.

"Yes." Her father murmured as he rubbed his daughter's back gently. "She already told you the basic details to the kidnapping, but there's more. Much more…" He took a breath and his eyes gazed back into the past as he remembered the day.

"Arai was eight and had just gotten into the Ninja Academy and N-My wife and I had decided to have a picnic as a family to celebrate. The three of us traveled a little ways out of Konoha to a large meadow. It was peaceful and nothing was going wrong. We didn't know what had happened, but suddenly the three of us were surrounded by sound nin. My wife and I fought the ninja while protecting Arai, but somehow or another…Arai had been taken right out from under us.

We captured one of the men and…interrogated him. He gave up his boss's name" -Sasuke purposely avoided saying Orochimaru's name- "but the location he had given up was empty. All of our friends helped us search." Sasuke looked at Naruto. "Naruto in particular was pissed because Arai was one of his best friends, even if she was only a child. It was the three of us, Sakura, Naruto, and I, who searched the hardest to find Orochimaru because of…previous encounters we had had." Younger Sasuke unconsciously rubbed his mark.

"It took us a year -a whole, fucking year-" Sasuke growled out, his anger rising, "to find her. A whole year for…" He sighed. "Arai had been trained, much harder than a child her age should've. It should've been too much even for a man my age. But that wasn't the only problem…by the time we'd found Arai, she absolutely hated all of us."

"Why?" Sakura asked. "It wasn't your fault that she…"

Sasuke shook his head. "That's not the reason. While Arai was being trained that man was also brainwashing her. He was altering all of her memories to painful ones. She had thought that all of us- friends and family alike- had hated her and…beat her. Me especially." They gasped. Kakashi's eye widened. "She was afraid of us and had thought it would've been better to stay with that man. She attacked us at full strength."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "When you had fought Arai, you had said she was at jounin level, but this isn't completely true. At full strength, back when she had attacked us, she was at jounin level. Today, at full strength, she would at least be ANBU level." The man's eyes clouded with pain. "It's a terrible thing, having to fight your own daughter when she's trying to kill you. She looked like she actually hated us…"

"I'm sorry, dad." Arai muttered in Sasuke's shirt.

Sasuke rubbed her hair and continued, "We managed to knock her out before she did much damage to herself or us. Naruto and I decided to stay behind to finish off Orochimaru as the others went back. It took us nearly a year to fix Arai's memories."

"Poor Arai-chan…" Naruto whispered. Younger Sasuke scowled.

Behind them the match finished and Sasuke was called down to fight.

* * *

**A/N: Alright I know what you're thinking: what the crap is with the huge time skip? Well the story is to focus around Arai and, seeing as she wasn't with them through the first two exams, I didn't want to type about two-three books of Naruto storyline. -_-**

**Yes, poor Arai-chan indeed, Naruto. Oh, and noticed how I changed the order of the fights. Yeah...**

**Flames will be used to help me make s'mores! :D**

**Oh, and if you have any suggestions, I won't mind hearing them. **


	11. Before the Third Exam

**A/N: Okay, I just want you all to know that there'll be a couple time skips along the way to the whole, Orochimaru, thing, okay? I'm doing this, 1, Because I don't have the time to type it all, 2, I'm too lazy to type every fight (bleh), and 3, I don't have the ideas to fill in the time skips. So don't complain, okay?**

* * *

Sasuke sighed from where he stood next to Sakura and his daughter on the balcony above the preliminary fighting grounds. All of the winners from the preliminary matches, minus his younger self, stood in a line awaiting their numbers in which would order them for the third exam's matches.

Sakura looked at her older friend. "What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke glanced at his daughter. Arai had cheered up quite a bit while watching the matches and seemed to have gotten over her issue for the time being. The girl hopped over the balcony's bar and ran over to Naruto to see his numbers.

"It's just…." Sasuke thought for a moment and ran a hand through his hair. "There are so many factors coming up that I need to account for. I need to remember every detail and know what to keep out of so that the future stays the same."

"Is something going to happen?" Sakura asked, worried. "Something with Orochimaru?"

Sasuke gave her a grim look. Sakura flinched. He looked away. "Unfortunately, yes. He wouldn't be here if he wasn't planning something. I can't tell you-" he added quickly before she could ask, "but I assure you it gets the ball rolling for my future. We're at a critical point, and Arai can't be part of this."

He cursed under his breath. Sakura placed a hand on his arm. She wasn't used to seeing Sasuke show so many emotions. It sort of overwhelmed her, but she was also glad that he was different from his younger self. She could see what he was going through.

"I really didn't want to have to relive this part of my life." Sasuke muttered, and then he disappeared in a small whirl of wind.

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura started at her teammate's loud voice. She looked down to see Arai and Naruto standing under the balcony looking up at her. "Where's Kakashi-sensei and Ryuu?"

"I think," Sakura called down, "that Kakashi-sensei's with Sasuke-kun and I don't know where Ryuu went!"

"Thanks, Sakura-chan!" Naruto turned and dashed off with Arai on his heels. He looked at her. "Are you feeling better now, Arai-chan?"

Arai smiled at him. "Yes. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"It's no problem." He grinned at her. "But where do you think your father went?"

Arai thought for a moment. "I'm not too sure. He's probably worrying about the near future." She looked away, thinking of the future herself. "I'm not surprised. A lot of crap is going to happen." She smiled shakily at him. "I'm a little scared."

Naruto frowned in determination. "Don't worry. Sasuke and I will protect you." Arai's eyes widened as a sudden flash of her mother saying that to her once before appeared in her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away.

"Thank you."

* * *

Sasuke wasn't surprised to see his old sensei suddenly appear next to him from where he sat by a river deep in Konoha's forest. It was a place that Kakashi used to take his team to when they were younger to just relax. Naruto had particularly enjoyed this place, thus Sasuke had learned to love it as well.

Sasuke stared at his fishing lure bob in the stream, waiting for a fish to bite down, but not really paying attention. "Yo." Kakashi greeted.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted. Kakashi enjoyed the fact that this Sasuke still used his infamous greet. Kakashi didn't speak for a period of time, just sitting next to Sasuke and reading his Icha Icha Paradise book. Sasuke knew this would go on forever if he didn't say anything. "What is it that you want, Kakashi?"

"It's not like you to be anywhere without your daughter." Kakashi observed offhandedly.

"If that's all you're here for, you can leave. I'm a grown man and Arai's fine now." Sasuke responded. He spotted a fish in the clear stream and watched it, expecting it to bite down on his line. Kakashi didn't answer. "Shouldn't you be working with my younger self right now? You know, training for the Chuunin Exam?"

"He's at a point where he needs to train by himself. Besides I find this more crucial."

"Then I repeat, what is it that you want, Kakashi?" Kakashi didn't answer. Sasuke scowled a little. "Kakashi." It was a warning.

"I'll get to the point, then." Kakashi said, having enjoyed messing with his ex-student and looked at him with his one eye. "You're obviously worrying over this Arai-Orochimaru deal. Talk to me."

"That might change the future." Sasuke stated.

"I found out that Naruto was your wife long ago, and that hasn't changed the future."

"You're a perceptive man. The attraction between Naruto and I isn't that hard to notice."

"You told us about Orochimaru and his kidnapping."

"It wouldn't influence the outcome of this timeline."

"Sasuke." Kakashi snapped his book shut, frustrated with his old student beating around the bush. He wondered faintly if he developed this from years of Naruto influence. "Enough. You're giving me crap. Talk to me." It was a command this time.

Sasuke didn't answer as the bob of his lure went down. He pulled up on the line, bringing out a fish with it. The fish sprayed him a little. Sasuke took a moment to examine the fish before pulling the hook out of its mouth and tossing the fish back into the water. The fish, momentarily shocked, didn't swim away until half a second later.

"Fine, then. You'll have to be more specific, though." He said, defeated.

"What's Orochimaru up to?" Kakashi asked seriously, his joking manner long since gone. Sasuke baited his line and tossed it back into the river.

"You realize that anything I tell you, you're not allowed to do anything about unless I tell you that you're allowed, correct?" He asked.

Kakashi realized in the back of his mind that technically this Sasuke, being an ANBU was above him in rank. This made it slightly easier to listen to his commands. "Yes."

"Orochimaru plans to attack Konoha. He's teamed up with Sunagakure."

The sensei's one eye widened in surprise. "What happens?" His eye narrowed. "Is that Gaara kid part of it?"

Sasuke watched his ex-sensei's reactions to judge what the man planned to do with this information. "Yes. Don't worry about him. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."

Kakashi nodded. "And Orochimaru?"

"He's going to kill the third." Kakashi reeled back in shock at this discovery.

It took a moment to recover. "Sasuke, you realize I just can't sit by with this information." He said slowly.

"You can and you will." Sasuke put down his fishing pole and turned to glare at the silver-haired man. "Kakashi, you don't realize how critical this whole thing is to my life. The third dying means that Jiraiya and Naruto go to find the new fifth Hokage and the woman that's going to save my wife. I won't let you interfere."

"So it's Tsunade-sama, then." Kakashi stated. Sasuke nodded and then picked up his fishing pole again. "What do you plan to do with Arai?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking about it. Probably go to the Chuunin Exam with her in the stands. I want to see Naruto's match and I know she won't miss it." He smiled slightly, just thinking of her indignation at him even thinking of leaving her behind. She would react just like her mother.

"Wouldn't you have seen Naruto's match, though?"

Sasuke gave him a look. "You know me, Kakashi, trying to get as much training in as possible. Plus getting all those damn bandages on was a pain." He muttered under his breath. "Don't know _what_ the hell I was thinking…"

"We're going to be late, aren't we?" Kakashi asked drily, ignoring Sasuke's mutterings, but was humored by them, nonetheless.

"Very. Almost get disqualified." Kakashi chuckled a little.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, it's much shorter than the last one. Just thought I'd get this out of the way. I think I'll just skip to the third exam after this….keep sending me suggestions for the story, though! They're appreciated!**

**Oh, and I saw a picture that said, "the real reason why Sasuke was late" and saw him messing with his bandages and I couldn't help adding that in. XD**


	12. The Third Exam

**A/N: Well, yes, I've been gone for a while. I've been working on school work, other stories (that I don't put on here), as well as just pretty much slacking off. Forgive me. I've at least become a better writer during this time apart (I hope.) But now I'm inspired to write this again. I've finally thought of what's going to happen next so here we go!**

**Oh, btw, if I use a break line, it means I'm skipping most likely to the end of the fight because it's too tedious to type the whole battle. Just look up the battles in the manga if you want to see it yourself.**

**Summary**** (for those who don't remember): Arai, a girl from 18 years in the future, has come back in time to where Team 7 are 12 to find the cure to a sickness that's killing her mother. There she confesses that she's actually Sasuke's daughter! Since then she has been living with Sasuke and pretending to be a 'student-teacher' for Team 7. After some time, a mysterious man in an ANBU uniform appears and it is discovered that it is future Sasuke himself coming to take back his daughter. Circumstances happen and Arai's stubbornness convinces him to stay in the past as well. He lives with Naruto where he exposes to our loveable Kyuubi that Naruto is actually Arai's mother (?). Team 7 is currently in the Chuunin Exams where the third exam is about to start…**

* * *

"This is so exciting!" Arai gushed as she and her father entered the stands of the stadium where the third exam would be taking place. In the last month, she hadn't seen neither younger Sasuke nor Naruto. Both had been off training with their senseis and she had been training with her father. She clenched a fist over her heart. Today Orochimaru as well as the Sand will attack Konoha. Naruto would fight Gaara of the Desert and eventually win, but the Third Hokage would die in the process while battling Orochimaru who was disguised as the Kazekage.

Her curse seal throbbed painfully. She glanced up towards where the Hokage was already seated, waiting for the event to begin with a shudder. The Kazekage wasn't there yet. Orochimaru…just thinking that name sparked fear in her soul. To this day the training that she was forced to go through and the maltreatment still haunted her. She never wanted to see his face ever again, but she had to be courageous. If she was anything less, than her father would take her back to their time period and it would be the end of her mother.

"Yes." Older Sasuke, disguised as 'Ryuu', agreed to her earlier comment. It would be his first time actually watching the Chuunin Exams for himself since in this time period he was too late to watch any of the matches. Today he would get to watch Naruto's battle for the first time. He smiled lightly, unable to help the surge of pleasure that came from knowing that his young wife was going to beat the daylights out of Neji, the Hyuuga genius. The boy had always been a little too cocky for his liking.

He glanced around, looking for a seat for him and his daughter and frowned at how packed the stadium was. He wanted a seat somewhere over here so he could keep an eye on the 'Kazekage'.

"Oh! Arai-chan! Ryuu-san!" Came a call. Both Uchihas turned to see Sakura standing and waving them over, pointing to the seats next to her. Arai grinned and rushed over with 'Ryuu' following close behind. "You guys made it!"

"Thank the gods you had some seats, Sakura-chan!" Arai said as she sat down and made room for her father. "This place is so packed!"

"Who is this, Sakura?" A blonde haired girl next to Sakura asked, leaning forward to check out the new arrivals. Sasuke recognized the young Ino and internally flinched instinctively, half-expecting her to squeal "Hi, Sasuke-kun!" But he relaxed as he realized that this was a ridiculous prospect. She wouldn't recognize him in this time with his disguise.

"Oh, Ino, this is my student-sensei Arai and her father Ryuu. Guys, this is Ino." Sakura introduced. Arai said hi and Sasuke nodded.

"Oh! Dad, there they are!" Arai cried, pointing down into the stadium grounds. Out filed the line of contestants that would be battling: Naruto, Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and the Sand siblings Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.

Naruto looked around, confused, as Ino commented, "Sasuke-kun isn't here yet…" Sakura looked at older Sasuke in confusion, but he shook his head.

"He'll come." Arai assured them. "He wouldn't miss his exam!" Sakura looked down, worried.

"Hey, I know you're worried about Sasuke-kun, but Naruto's fight is up first so instead of worrying, why don't you cheer Naruto on?" Ino told her friend. Sakura gazed at her for a moment before nodding and smiling lightly with a 'yeah'.

"Arai." Sasuke murmured under his breath, catching his daughter's attention. She looked at him and he nodded up to the viewing box where the Hokage was. The Kazekage had arrived. Arai took in a shuddery breath, feeling ice run through her veins and she frowned seriously. She had to be strong. This was not her fight, but she would be a part of it anyway as backup just in case.

The Hokage stood and called out the beginning of the Chuunin Exams. Down on the grounds, the contestants could be seen being talked to by the referee. Naruto's match with Neji would be first. Beside them Ino muttered something about Naruto not having a chance against Neji. Sasuke frowned, knowing that it was wrong. Naruto, when determined enough, could defeat anybody. 'Except me.' He added as an afterthought, cockily. And from the look of it, Naruto was certainly determined. 'He's going to get revenge for Hinata.' Sasuke remembered the poor Hyuuga heiress's failed battle against her cousin. Naruto had promised to beat Neji with all of his strength.

"Now the first fight! Begin!" The referee yelled and jumped out of the way. Naruto immediately started with his Kage Bushin no Jutsu. He charged, but even with all five of the Narutos, Neji overpowered them effortlessly.

Arai grinned, excitement boiling inside of her at a good match. 'You'll have to try harder than that to beat a Hyuuga, Naruto.' She thought as words were exchanged between the two. "Heehee, he's such an idiot." She whispered.

"At least he remembered that Hyuuga is a long-range fighter. He's become smarter." Sasuke commented back as Neji and Naruto talked. Then the boy created even more clones.

"If he creates that many clones, then he'll run out of chakra, that baka." Sakura said, worried. Arai sat forward in her seat as Naruto saw through Neji's thoughts and tricked him. He was getting better and better every day.

'This fight is more exciting than I thought.' Sasuke smirked, proud for his friend.

* * *

Arai and Sakura jumped from their seats as Naruto finished off Neji, effectively winning the battle. "Yay! Naruto won!" Sakura cried.

"Yes! That's how you freaking do it, Naruto!" Arai yelled over the clapping of the spectators. Sasuke smiled as cheers and calls cried out to Naruto, clapping as well. They were starting to acknowledge Naruto's strength. Naruto grinned and caught Sasuke's eye before throwing a peace sign up at him, laughing before starting to run around as he soaked in the congratulations.

"So, Naruto, even now you can control some of the Kyuubi's chakra." Sasuke murmured and looked at his cheering daughter. He was slightly surprised when Arai hardly seemed to react to Naruto using the fox's powers. Usually when she was within the general area and he used it, it would trigger the Kyuubi chakra within her and would force her to transform. Naruto was close enough that it would've affected her.

Arai heard her father and looked back with a grin. She understood immediately what he had been thinking about. "Don't worry, dad; I've got it under my control. I'm far enough away that it doesn't affect me too much." Sakura gave her a confused glance, but didn't say anything. "Who's up next?" She asked her friend.

"Sasuke-kun and that kid Gaara's match." The pink-haired girl responded, concerned. "Where is Sasuke-kun at?" A lot of the spectators were complaining because the next match hadn't started yet. The crowd was antsy.

"What's going on?" Ino wondered. "Is Sasuke-kun even here for his match?" Just then the referee called out that they were going to delay Sasuke's match and move onto the next one, which pissed off the spectators. "What a relief!" Ino said.

"Ryuu-san?" Sakura whispered.

"He'll be here, Sakura. He's just going to be very…late." Sasuke told her, sitting back in his seat. Next would be Shino and Kankuro. He already knew what was going to happen, though. And it was going to piss off Shino, but it worked out in his favor in the end.

"I forfeit!" Kankuro called down and in his place his sister Temari flew down on her giant fan.

"What the hell!" Arai cried, frustrated. "Why did he give up? Kankuro isn't-" Sasuke yanked her back down into her seat after she had stood up and gave her a sharp glance to be quiet. She was supposed to pretend not to know him.

Shikamaru looked about ready to quit as well when Naruto heroically rescued him from his decision and cheerfully pushed him over the railing of the balcony the contestants were watching the match on and onto the field. Ino laughed.

Before they knew it, the match started with Temari attacking before the referee could even call for the match to start. "BUST HER UP!" Ino yelled, fist-pumping the air in her excitement for her teammate. "SHIKAMARU! HIT HER WITH A 16-HIT COMBO!" Chouji arrived then, eating chips already and asking to sit next to her.

"Huh? Wasn't Sasuke's match supposed to be next?" He asked. Ino grimaced and shushed him, telling him to shut up because Sakura was depressed with her concern for Sasuke.

"Hm, this is the first time I've seen Temari-san fight for real." Arai told her father. "She uses a fan as her only weapon?"

"Yes, although she has others, but that's her main one. She's great at long-distance battle." Sasuke said. Shikamaru kneeled in the shadows and cupped his hands in a circle formation, closing his eyes. The Uchiha smirked. 'It's over now.'

From above, Shikamaru tied his shirt to a kunai so that as he used his Shadow Puppet technique, the shadow for the parachute allowed him to stretch his shadow farther to get to Temari. Although it failed, he found another way by using the tunnel in the ground created by Naruto's battle to finally snag the girl. The two walked closer to each other and raised their hands, mirroring each other.

"That's it. I give up." Shikamaru said. Sasuke sweat-dropped and Ino and Arai's mouths fell open in shock.

Chouji laughed. "I told you he'd give up." The match was rewarded to Temari.

"What the hell was that?" Arai cried, hands clutching her hair.

"Aahh! What a waste! This was his chance to become Chuunin!" Ino yelled.

"That's just who he is." Chouji said.

'I'd forgotten just how lazy Shikamaru is.' Sasuke thought as his daughter continued to complain. He heard Naruto yell something in frustration about being pissed and how he was going to lecture the lazy genin before he jumped down onto the field.

"IDIOT!" Naruto yelled as he ran over to his friend, pissed. "Why'd you give up?"

"Shut up, you super idiot." Shikamaru replied. "Let's just enjoy the next match." That seemed to stop Naruto in his tracks and he smiled.

"Where's Sasuke-kun at?" Sakura whispered as the crowd became antsy again.

Arai suddenly grinned. "He's here!" Just then a whirlwind of leaves swirled on the field right next to Naruto and slowly settled down to reveal Sasuke dressed in a new outfit and Kakashi. Naruto and Sakura grinned. "Jeez, talk about dramatic." Arai muttered, smacking her dad's arm a little. Sasuke just smirked in reply, excited to see his own match from the outside.

"Sorry we're late." Kakashi smiled as he apologized.

The referee just smirked. "Your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." The younger Sasuke replied. Beside Ino Lee appeared, confirming that it was indeed Sasuke.

"Hah! How late can you be?" Naruto told Sasuke tauntingly. "I was beginning to think you weren't showing up cuz you were afraid to fight me!"

"Heh, don't get worked up, you usuratonkachi." Sasuke replied, smirking. "From your excitement, you won in your first round?"

"Of course!" Naruto confirmed. Kakashi received the okay on Sasuke's match, telling them that they were still able to fight. Sasuke glanced up at Gaara, who was glowering down at them. "Don't lose to that guy." Naruto told his teammate.

"Yeah…"

"Sasuke!" The blonde ninja suddenly yelled, surprising Sasuke. "I want to fight you too!"

Sasuke stared at him for a moment. "Yeah…" Up in the stands, Ino squealed for Sasuke, causing the Sasuke in the stands to wince. Arai giggled.

"Sakura, your team is pretty amazing." Ino told her friend. "I mean, who would've thought that Naruto would beat that Hyuuga Neji?"

"Of course! After all, he was trained under me!" Arai boasted. Sasuke scoffed.

"Hardly."

"Hey! Nobody asked you, dad!"

* * *

**Okay, well there you go. I plan on updating tomorrow as well, but for now you can put up with this, alright? I plan on finishing the Gaara arch fairly quickly (in about 2-3 chapters) so that I can get to Itachi and Tsunade. Tsunade's arch is the last one, of course considering she's the one they'll get the cure from. I'm thinking of doing some kind of sequel perhaps. But that one with Naruto and Arai coming back from the future instead of Sasuke during Shippuden, but I need to think of a plot line first. I'd like opinions if you please.**

**Also, I'm wondering if I should allow Arai to see Itachi (he's her uncle that she's never met after all). Would Sasuke even allow her to meet him? And if so, should older Sasuke see him as well? Hm…decisions decisions.**

**Anyway, yes I plan on finishing this story before (hopefully) summer vacation. Also, I plan on taking up 'Darkness' again as well. Look forward to it! I'd love reviews!**


	13. Sasuke's Battle and the Assault Begins!

**A/N: Update #2! Ugh, I really don't want to write this arc…. I just want to move onto Itachi's arc. *Sigh* I'll put up with it though. Oh, and I cosplayed as Haruhi Suzumiya at school today! XD I was cheered! People loved me! …And some thought I was Sailor Moon. =_=''' - (Not a fan...at all)**

* * *

"Yo!" Kakashi called as he arrived in the stands next to Lee and Gai. "It looks like everybody's here. Are you okay to be here, Lee?"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura called and then gave him an evil look at his nonchalance.

"Oh, sorry, sorry! You must have been worried. Sorry for not contacting you all." Kakashi turned to 'Ryuu'. "You didn't tell them that Sasuke'd make it?"

"She didn't believe me." Sasuke replied, leaning back in his seat.

"What took you so long, Kakashi-sensei?" Arai asked.

"Well, you see-" Kakashi began, but Sakura cut him off by calling his name.

"On Sasuke-kun's neck, there was a mark, right? Is that…?"

"Don't worry." He smiled reassuringly. Sakura smiled lightly, believing her teacher's opinion. Sasuke watched Sakura silently and she met his gaze. She blushed a little and frowned after she realized that Sasuke was right next here. But for some reason, it didn't seem right until Kakashi told her otherwise.

She leaned over towards Arai and whispered, "Arai, will that mark…mess with the match?"

Arai frowned and unconsciously fingered her own curse mark. "If you have it under your control and you don't go beyond your limits, then it's usually okay…"

Kakashi walked over to stand next to older Sasuke and murmured so that nobody could hear, "There are a lot of ANBU."

"For good reason." Sasuke replied, remembering his job here all of the sudden. He had gotten comfortable during the matches, but now it was time to be on guard again. Not long into this fight, the assault on Konohagakure would begin and he and Arai needed to be prepared. "Remember: leave the Hokage to them."

"You're making this very difficult on me, Sasuke." Kakashi sighed lightly, looking vaguely worried. Sasuke touched his daughter's hand silently and Arai nodded without looking away from where younger Sasuke and Gaara's match had officially started. She was ready.

* * *

Sasuke jumped back to gain soas sand spiraled out of the gourd on Gaara's back to levitate around him. 'So this is the sand Kakashi mentioned.' He thought.

Gaara suddenly flinched, holding his head. "Don't…get so angry…" He muttered. Sasuke frowned, wondering what he was talking about, "…mother." The brunette finished, smiling. "I fed you some nasty blood earlier. I'm sorry…but this time it will be delicious." Gaara flinched again before he calmed down and gazed coldly at his opponent. "Come."

"Here I come." Sasuke warned before pulling out two shuriken and throwing them. Gaara's sand blocked them and formed a sand clone. Sasuke charged and jumped to avoid the attack of sand before tossing even more shuriken at the clone. It was blocked by his previously caught weapons. He landed and punched the sand clone, getting his hand captured. He smirked however as he remembered his training with Kakashi and used his speed to appear behind his opponent and got in a clean shot in the face.

* * *

Arai leaned forward in her seat, transfixed. Her father…even as a boy was amazing. His speed was incredible –about on par with her own- and it had taken her many months just to acquire that. Sasuke had managed that speed in just one! 'An Uchiha genius…' She realized.

She watched as Sasuke continued to use his speed and avoided Gaara's protective sand to get a swift kick in. It wasn't very effective due to the sand armor the latter boy had, however. Afterwards he sped around and around his enemy before breaching the barrier and hitting Gaara repeatedly.

"What kind of training did you do?" Gai asked Kakashi. "To come this far in just one month…"

"Sasuke had copied Lee-kun's taijutsu with the sharingan before. That's why during his training, I made Sasuke use Lee-kun's taijutsu. Because he knew Lee-kun and had seen his action before, he was able to master the style. It was a lot of work, of course." Kakashi replied.

"That's cheating." Arai said, frowning. "No wonder he was able to master it so fast. I could've done it the same way in three weeks."

Sasuke laughed a little at his daughter's competitive spirit as Kakashi ruffled her hair. Lee gazed at her in amazement and disbelief. "It was too bad on your part you didn't try what I had." Sasuke said lowly.

"Chea~ter~!" Arai taunted, sticking her tongue out at him. She turned back to the match to see Gaara surround himself in a tight sand ball. The younger Sasuke ran forward and punched it as hard as he could, and then jumped back as spikes stretched towards him. His hand was bleeding and he was frowning.

"Arai." Her father warned, tense. Arai understood what it was immediately. Gaara's infamous 'absolute defense'. She remembered the story and what her father had warned her before the exam. His younger self would manage to actually injure Gaara, triggering the biju located within him and the assault. Soon, the time would come. Her heart raced as adrenaline already began to flow within her veins.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Came a loud call. Everyone turned as Naruto and Shikamaru rested from their run.

"Hm? What's up?" Kakashi asked.

"Sensei! Stop this fight right now!" Naruto commanded. He didn't even see older Sasuke and Arai slip away from their seats and into the back of the stadium. "He's totally different from us! He's not normal!"

'What…is Naruto doing?' Arai wondered, hiding in the shadows. She had never heard of the boy trying to stop Sasuke's match before. Her father was concentrated on Naruto, frowning. Naruto had never told him of this either. Naruto screamed about how Gaara was going to kill Sasuke and the older man scowled.

'Did Naruto really have such little faith in my abilities before?' He thought, annoyed. But as he looked down on the field and watched as his younger self charged up a chidori, he remembered just how difficult it was to defeat the sand jinchuriki. 'Then again, I suppose his reasonings are not too far off…'

Younger Sasuke charged and penetrated the absolute defense with his chidori, shocking the crowd. "Lightening beats earth." Arai muttered, remembering what she had been taught a couple years ago. It was no surprise to her that a powerful attack such as chidori managed to beat the absolute sand defense.

"AAH! BLOOD! MY… MY BLOOD!" Came a shrill cry from inside of the sand barrier. Sasuke saw his younger self freeze up and deep within him he remembered the terrible sight that had been inside of that ball. An imperceivable shudder ran through him at the thought. Suddenly feathers began floating in front of his vision and drowsiness invaded him. It was time.

He quickly forced the genjutsu off of him and saw his daughter do the same before instinctively checking on Naruto. The boy had passed out. 'Naruto…you dobe…' He thought and decided it best to leave him for now. A large explosion of gas erupted on the platform where the Kages had been. Arai disappeared, preparing for her part without interfering with events unfolding. Out of the cloud of smoke burst the Kazekage clutching the Hokage with a kunai to his neck.

* * *

Sasuke down on the field looked around in confusion as his referee stepped in front of him and the sand trio gathered as well as their teacher. He could hear screams and destruction occurring outside of the stadium. Up on the viewing platform a cloud of smoke had exploded. Gaara and his siblings dashed off. "What's going on?" He demanded from the referee.

"Sorry, but the Chuunin Exam is now over. You go pursue Gaara and the others." The man replied. Sasuke gaped, about to protest when the man continued, "You're already at the Chuunin level. If you're a Leaf shinobi, then make yourself useful." Sasuke closed his mouth.

'Jeez.' He thought while looking around again to assess the situation. 'What's going on?' He glanced up at the stands and spotted his older self gazing down at him. The man motioned with his head up towards the top of the stadium. Sasuke nodded. He didn't need to be told to go and he left.

'Now.' Older Sasuke thought and appeared behind Kakashi as the man finally noticed that Orochimaru had been the one to capture the Third. "Kakashi."

"Sasuke," Kakashi turned, dead serious, "is this…" Sasuke just nodded. Two Sound ninja appeared to attack Sakura, who had also broken the genjutsu. Both men knocked one away each swiftly before the girl could get hurt. "Sakura, stay like that for a bit. I'll even the odds." Kakashi smiled at her before joining Gai in the line of defense to the citizens.

"Sakura." Sasuke called, turning to her, expecting Kakashi to keep the ninja at bay for a moment. The girl looked at him. "Nullify the jutsu over Naruto and Shikamaru. I'm giving you an A-ranked mission." He quickly told Sakura what his younger self was doing and what to do with her assigned teammates. He then jumped into Kakashi's battle and traded off with him attacking, informing the man of what he wanted.

"This," Kakashi continued where Sasuke had left off and summoned a small, droopy-eyed pug with a hitai-ate, "is your fourth teammate."

"This little doggy is our teammate?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"This guy, Pakkun, will track Sasuke down by his scent."

"Hey missy, don't call me a 'cute little doggy'." The pug said.

"Okay, go nullify the jutsu on Naruto and Shikamaru, Sakura." Kakashi commanded and Sakura nodded and crawled between the seats with Pakkun following along before proceeding to wake Naruto. Shikamaru had actually been awake the whole time and complained as he sat up, annoyed that he had to search for Sasuke. Sakura scolded the boy as Naruto sat up.

"What the heck is going on?"

"Naruto, behind you!" Sakura cried as a sound ninja appeared and prepared to attack the blonde. Before Naruto could even look though, older Sasuke had slammed the ninja hard through the wall, shattering the cement wall.

In front of them, Kakashi appeared again. "Now, I'll restate your mission! Once you've heard it, escape through that hole, chase after Sasuke, join up with him, and stop him! Then take him to a safe location!"

"Wait! What happened to Sasuke?" Naruto demanded. Arai jumped in through the hole and landed by Naruto, looking very ruffled and scratched up.

"I'll explain as we go!" She told him before dashing out. Sakura grabbed Naruto and jumped with him through the hole after her followed by Pakkun and an upset Shikamaru.

"Will they be alright by themselves?" Gai asked as he landed next to Kakashi. Sasuke stared out of the hole as he watched his daughter and her friends disappear.

"They've got Arai and Pakkun with them. They'll be fine." Kakashi replied.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, just as a heads up: I'm going to skip ahead to right before Sakura, Naruto, and Arai catch up with Sasuke and Gaara and play the fight scene out through Arai's point of view so you can get her thoughts and feelings on seeing her parents' history play out before her. Wow, how amazing would that be? Anyway, I might update again today, but I'm not sure. I'm going to work on Darkness now.**

**Please Read and Review! I love *coughpositivecough* feedback!**


	14. Gaara and Naruto's Battle

**A/N: Well, it's summer down here in Florida and that means rain and heat. -_-' I have time to work on my stories now.**

* * *

"Do you think Shikamaru will be alright?" Sakura asked as she, Naruto, Arai, and the lead dog Pakkun flew threw the trees as they raced to catch up to Sasuke and Gaara. Shikamaru had stayed behind in order to hold off a hoard of sound ninja.

"He'll be fine! That lazyass Shikamaru can be strong when he wants to be!" Naruto called back to her. Arai's blood itched inside of her as a scent reached her nose and her body shuddered. The smell of blood was in the air nearby. Her curse mark stung. Sasuke was nearby. Just then as they crashed through the trees, Sasuke flew by and slammed against a tree trunk. Gaara, looking more beast than man, followed after, but Naruto kicked him away, catching him by surprise as Sakura cried, "Sasuke-kun!" She and Arai landed beside the fallen Uchiha as Naruto landed a little in front of them.

Sasuke grunted in pain. "You three…" He gasped, sounding slightly annoyed. Arai realized that the curse mark on his shoulder was beginning to take him over. She scowled.

"Sasuke, you went over your limit!" She scolded a little.

"But Kakashi-sensei said that the mark was taking care of!" Sakura said as Sasuke groaned in pain. Arai winced in empathy, knowing all too well what pain he was going through. She gripped her own shoulder.

"Sakura-chan…Arai-chan…" Naruto called softly. When neither responded, he called them again in a louder voice.

"What?" Sakura demanded, pissed that her attention was pulled away. Arai looked up as well and saw Gaara back on his feet, studying them.

"Who…who the hell is that?" Naruto asked, pointing at Gaara.

"That's Gaara." Arai told them.

"He may be transformed, but that's him." Pakkun informed.

"He…attacked Sasuke-kun." Sakura said. Naruto's teeth gnashed together. Pakkun commented on how he wasn't a battle dog and Sakura yelled at him. Arai frowned at the situation she was in, staring at Gaara. She had met the boy multiple times in the future as Suna and Konoha were in good relations thanks to the Hokage and Kazekage being friends. She knew that he had the one-tailed biju within him and so knew very well what was going on with him. However, she had never actually seen the transformation as Gaara had his biju taken from him by the Akatsuki. It was a shock seeing him like this and so bloodthirsty.

Sakura cried out Sasuke's name as the boy spat up blood and screamed in pain. "Can't you do anything, Arai-chan?" She yelled. Arai and Sasuke's eyes met and she shook her head.

"I can't do anything."

"You…" Arai turned back to the battle as Gaara spoke, "you're the one I failed to kill that time."

Naruto suddenly spun around. "You guys! Get away!" He yelled as Gaara rushed past him.

"DIE! UCHIHA SASUKE!" He screamed. Sakura jumped in his way, a kunai in her hand and fully prepared to guard. She was useless however as Gaara's sand arm extended and slammed her against a tree. Naruto jumped and grabbed Sasuke before moving him out of the line of fire. Gaara cried out in some unknown pain and his body began to transform even more. "What do they mean to you?" He asked Naruto as he came back to himself. He completely disregarded Arai's presence next to him. She didn't know whether to be offended or relieved.

Naruto glared and yelled, "T-they're my friends! Leave them alone, or else! I'll you're your ass!" Gaara squeezed Sakura tighter, causing the girl to scream.

"Now what?" Gaara asked. "Aren't you going to kick my ass? Bring it on."

"Damn you!" Naruto yelled and jumped at him, but Gaara easily swatted him away with his tail. The blonde boy cursed. He hopped back up and did the symbols Arai recognized as a summoning jutsu. She grinned, expecting him to summon something great like she was used to her mom doing, but was greatly disappointed when only little Gamakichi showed up. Even Gaara appeared surprised.

Arai activated her sharingan and charged up a chidori while Gaara transformed more. She had to separate his arm from Sakura before the girl was mistakenly crushed. 'I can't change time, but I can't at least do this.' She thought. She jumped, chidori fully charged, and sliced through the sand arm, leaving Sakura hanging. She then joined Sasuke and Naruto.

Gaara seemed to regain his bearings and growled to them, "She won't be released until you beat me. Not only that, it'll continue to get tighter and crush her."

'Damn!' Arai thought. Her attack had been pointless.

The sand on Gaara's arms bubbled and multiple sand shuriken burst from them. Arai grabbed Sasuke and jumped out of the way, but Naruto wasn't quick enough, only being able to grab Gamakichi and protect him before being hit. Arai looked back to make sure he was okay and saw that Gaara was almost completely taken over. Fear unwillingly caused her body to tremble. The poor Sand ninja had absolutely no control as a jinchuriki. The boy screamed at Naruto, taunting him into action. Arai squeezed her eyes shut, resisting the urge to help. That boy was no different than she was.

'Maybe this was a bad idea.' She thought. 'Maybe I should've stayed with dad. I don't think I can handle this.' But she forced her eyes open and watched as Naruto was again and again beaten down. "Why…isn't he fighting back?" She whispered. This wasn't like him.

"Damn…it…" Naruto growled as he struggled back to his feet. Within his eyes, a sudden determination appeared as he reached into his back pouch. Arai realized that some of his fighting spirit had woken and her own hope was regained. She remembered why she was here.

***Flashback***

"No." Arai's father repeated once again as the two stood together high among the tree branches. Tomorrow was the day of the Third Exam and they were fighting again over what they were going to do.

"Dad, come on! Put some trust into me! I know what I'm doing!" Arai complained. "I want to see Naruto's fight with Gaara!"

"I'm telling you no, Arai. That battle is too dangerous for you. The fact that Naruto, Sakura, and I made it out alive was luck alone. You'll be forced to be involved."

"I'll stay out of it, I promise! I'll make sure not to draw his attention to me!"

Sasuke scowled. "I don't remember everything from that battle. You don't know everything that happens and that could kill you."

"I know enough." She jumped out onto a ledge further in front of him and turned to face her father. "I'm strong, dad. This will be a learning experience for me. While I'm here in the past, I may as well learn from your fights –the fights that made both you and mom who you are today. I want to carry that strength for myself and prove myself to you, mom, and everybody else."

Sasuke studied her for a moment, gauging her determination. Finally he smirked. "Fine. You can go." She grinned and hugged him before jumping away. Her father watched her go with a tiny smile on his face. That look in her eyes was so similar to Naruto's. He scoffed lightly to himself. "Well, she has to get it from somewhere. It's a shame she got both mine and Naruto's stubbornness, though." With that said, he followed after his daughter.

***End***

She gathered back that determination, shaking that fear from her core. She couldn't be scared. She was here for a reason and that fear would get in her way.

An explosion shook her back to reality and Naruto flew away from Gaara, the center of the explosion. Sasuke jumped between him and the tree and shielded the boy from taking the full damage. Arai was shocked that her father was still even able to move. In that state, fighting off the curse mark, he shouldn't be able to hardly move.

The two teammates spoke together in hushed tones as she snuck back a little from Gaara's line of vision. She couldn't get caught up in the fight. But she watched as Naruto created thousands of clones of himself and pounded the other jinchuriki. Unfortunately it resulted in Gaara becoming fully possessed. Arai fell to her knees in shock. She didn't realize just how terrible a biju was until she was finally face-to-face with one.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled and Arai whipped around to find sand slowly curling around Naruto, who stood there helplessly.

"No!" Arai yelled and hurried to help him as the sand fully surrounded him.

"SUMMONING NO JUTSU!" Came a yell from within the desert coffin and it exploded, blowing Arai and Sasuke back into a tree. They both blinked and groaned and stared in amazement at the giant toad that now sat where they had been, easily matching the size of the giant biju. Sasuke trembled next to Arai.

"Gamabunta…" Arai whispered and then grinned. "Fuck yeah!" She jumped up, excited. Gamabunta attacked relentlessly, creating such a ruckus that Sasuke and Arai were forced to hang onto the tree. Water and wind rained down and around them, whipping up trees and soaking them. 'It's like a storm!' She thought. 'Is Naruto really this powerful?' she never realized that her mom was so great.

"HERE WE GO!" She heard Naruto scream and a giant cloud of smoke appeared around Gamabunta. From the smoke emerged a giant red fox, who grabbed onto the biju for dear life with teeth and claws.

"Holy shit." Arai breathed.

"A…fox?" Sasuke whispered.

"Kyuubi no Kitsune." Arai said. 'But it's not the real thing. It's just a transformation.' She thought. Her body would've been reacting a lot more if it was the real thing. But just as quickly as the fox appeared, it disappeared as Naruto jumped from Gamabunta and struck Gaara. Gamabunta's tail rushed out and circled Naruto, protecting him from a fatal attack and a shock ran through Arai. She fell to her knees and shuddered painfully, feeling the Kyuubi chakra within her boiling. 'No…' She thought. 'Control…I must maintain control!' Naruto must have been using his Kyuubi chakra.

And then it stopped. She looked up just as the biju burst into a mountain of sand. She blinked, wondering what happened as Sasuke asked, "Did he win?" Right then Gamabunta disappeared with an explosion of air and smoke. From where he was two figures fell, landing in two separate trees on opposite sides of the leftover knife of the Boss toad.

* * *

Sasuke stood in the bloody remains of his battle as he stood with the other shinobi that had fought in the siege. He was watching the Hokage battle with Orochimaru, hate flowing through him. He felt useless, knowing he wasn't allowed to do anything. Vaguely he wondered what was happening to his daughter at the moment. The end was approaching, he knew.

"Kakashi." He said. The man didn't turn, but he knew he was listening. "I'm going after Arai and the others." He turned his back on the fight and ran towards the forest. He knew the outcome of that battle and quite honestly he didn't care to see it. He had to make sure his daughter was alright.

* * *

With an explosion, the knife disappeared and Gaara and Naruto jumped for one final attack, but Naruto's will was stronger, striking Gaara square in the face with one punch before plummeting through the trees towards the ground.

"You get Sakura." Sasuke told Arai, catching her attention before she could run to help her friend. "I'll get Naruto." He stood, seeming recovered some.

"But what about Naruto's wounds? I'll heal them!" She protested.

"Naruto's tough. You need to get Sakura before the sand fades." Sasuke turned to her and nodded before jumping off to get Naruto. Arai nodded and went for Sakura.

* * *

Sasuke reached where Naruto was and saw the injured boy struggling to even drag himself over to Gaara. Both of their chakra supplies were completely drained, he could tell.

"Do…Don't come any closer!" Gaara yelled at Naruto, looking distressed. That bloodlust from earlier was completely gone, replaced only with fear. Naruto grunted and looked up to meet Gaara's eyes. With a start, Sasuke saw that the blonde was crying.

"The pain of being alone…is not an easy one to bear…Your feelings…why is it…that I can understand your pain?" He asked. Sasuke's heart jumped. "But…" Naruto continued, "I have many people that are important to me now. I won't let you hurt those people important to me! Even if you try to kill them…**I will stop you.**"

"Why?" Gaara whispered as Naruto tried once again to drag himself closer. "Why do you go so far for other peoples' sake?"

"They saved me from the hell of being alone. They acknowledged my existence…that's why they're all important to me. I love them." Naruto said. Sasuke decided it was time to end this and jumped down next to Naruto, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough, Naruto. He's done." Naruto looked up in surprise at him. "Sakura's safe. Arai's got her."

Naruto lay his head down with a happy sigh and smiled. "Thank god…" After that he promptly passed out.

Kankurou and Temari landed beside Gaara, prepared to fight Sasuke and the Uchiha tensed, ready to battle. "That's enough." Gaara surprisingly interrupted. "It's over." His siblings stared at him before nodding. Kankurou grabbed Gaara and left with his siblings.

Arai, a recently woken Sakura, Pakkun, and older Sasuke arrived not too long afterwards, joining the two boys. "The battle's over." Arai's father said as he held Naruto. He looked at his younger self. "Do you need me to carry you as well?"

Sasuke glared at him and scoffed, annoyed that the man could even suggest that. "No." Arai laughed.

* * *

It was two days later that the funeral for the Hokage was held. Arai and her father stayed back and watched from afar, atop the Hokage Mountain. The wind blew harshly as the rain pounded down, as if the weather was reflecting the moods of everybody in Konoha. Arai's head was lowered, watching the sorrow-filled faces of the village, including her friends. She closed her eyes.

"Was there really no way we could save the Sandaime?" She whispered to her companion. Sasuke wrapped his cloak around him tighter before motioning for Arai to do the same.

"Without him dying, Naruto and Jiraiya-sama would not go to find Tsunade-sama." He said calmly.

"But couldn't we just search for her?" Arai asked as she huddled tighter into her cloak.

"I don't know where to look. We don't have time. We don't even know how time is progressing in the future." A look of pain crossed his face. Arai placed a hand in his and gripped it.

"Mom's fine, dad. I'm sure of it." She smiled. "So what should we do?"

Sasuke smiled back a little at her. "We wait until Jiraiya-sama finds Naruto and join them. But," He stood as they prepared to leave. Arai stood as well, "we need to watch out for Itachi." With that said, they both disappeared. Above them the rain slowed and stopped as the skies began to clear.


	15. On the Hunt For Tsunade

**A/N: It's getting harder and harder for me to write these stories with writer's block slowly developing. TT^TT If it's crappy, I'm sorry. I'll try my best. **

**Naruto-plushie: Gambatte, Lexie!**

* * *

Sasuke was slow to arrive home from the third Hokage's funeral. Luckily the rain had stopped and the sun had come out, but even so the mood of the village was still depressed. Even he felt more sad than usual. That man, Orochimaru, had killed their great leader. He was far too strong. Actually, there are a lot of strong people out there like..._ Naruto..._ He thought and scowled a little. The boy was growing so strong, and Sasuke hadn't even noticed. When had he developed so much power? His battle with Gaara had left him feeling completely useless. He hadn't been able to help Naruto in the least. Naruto was beaten terribly because of it.

But didn't his older self know of this? And Arai as well? Why hadn't they done anything to stop the battle? But thinking of that, why hadn't they warned anybody of the Hokage's upcoming death to prevent it? Were they not allowed to?

He opened the door to his house and sensed movement upstairs. Knowing that it was probably Arai, he went to question her. Upon opening the door, though, he was slightly surprised to see his half-naked adult self holding a pair of bright blue _obviously _girl's underwear. He made a horrified face at the discovery.

Older Sasuke glanced at his younger self in confusion upon seeing the face, and then looked down at what he was holding. He immediately understood the situation and quickly, but calmly, said, "It's not what it looks like."

"What…the hell?" The other choked out, finding the scene disturbing on so many levels.

"Calm down."

Down the hall, a toilet flushed. "Oh! Sasuke, you're home!" Arai called, exiting the bathroom and walking down the hallway towards her bedroom. Noticing the younger Sasuke's shocked state, she peeked into the bedroom to see what was wrong. "Dad!" She gasped, mortified.

The older Sasuke had the decency to blush a little. "It's _not _what it looks like." He repeated.

"Just what the hell is going on here?" She screeched.

"When did I become a pedophile?" The younger Sasuke hissed, blushing as well.

"I was just helping you pack, Arai! Calm down!" Her father said, folding the underwear up and placing it in a backpack the other two Uchihas had not noticed earlier. "Hurry and gather your clothes."

"Oh, okay." Arai immediately recovered from the situation as the younger Sasuke asked, "Pack? And why are you shirtless?"

"I'm shirtless because my shirt got wet during the storm." He reached into the backpack upon noticing something and pulled it out. He smiled gently. "Arai, you had a picture of this?" He held up the picture of him and Naruto at the festival; the one with cotton candy covering his head.

Arai grinned. "Of course! That was one of the funniest things ever!"

"Naruto's still lucky I let him go with his balls intact." He muttered darkly.

Younger Sasuke sat down on Arai's bed as the girl placed the picture back inside her bag. "You haven't answered my question."

"Which one?" She wondered. "Dad, can you hand me my kunai?"

"Why are you packing?" Both Uchihas paused at the question and a distant look appeared on Arai's face as she gazed at her friend.

"That's right…This might be the last time I see you..." She murmured. Sasuke stiffened and his heart rate picked up, startling him. When had Arai become such a natural occurrence? Was he really scared to lose her from his life?

"What do you mean?" He demanded. When she only looked down sadly, he turned his glare to his older self.

'Ryuu' sighed through his nose, picking up the stray kunai Arai had left laying around the room absently. "Arai and I are leaving to find the woman who will be able to create a cure for my wife. We'll be leaving as soon as we get that cure."

Sasuke struggled to find something to say. He really didn't want Arai to leave. His house felt lived in for the first time in years. With the girl gone, it would be like taking the light from the moon. "…I see." He managed to say, looking away. Arai gave him a questioning look, not understanding the shift in the atmosphere.

* * *

The next day, Sasuke trudged downstairs once again to find his older self, Arai, and surprisingly Naruto eating breakfast. Naruto looked up upon seeing him and waved a hand.

"G'morning, Sasuke!" He called cheerfully as Arai said, "Breakfast is on!"

"Hurry up and eat. You have a meeting with Kakashi, don't you?" Her father said. Sasuke stared at the group and his heart warmed. It was as if he had a family all of the sudden. It felt great being greeted in the morning. A rare smile appeared on his face, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.

"Holy crap, Sasuke's smiling!" He yelled.

"Dobe." Both Sasukes said, scowling. Sasuke didn't like mornings, and his older self still hadn't grown out of that. "Shut up, you're too loud."

"Holy crap! Sasuke in stereo!" Arai yelled, causing both to glare at her. She laughed. Both of them sat down, the older of the two placing freshly made eggs on the table next to the toast. It was a cheery breakfast that left Sasuke longing for it not to end. In a sense, his older self really did act like a father, and Arai felt like his sister. And Naruto…

He looked at the grinning ball of sunshine. His face seemed to display all of the emotions Sasuke felt within his heart. His eyes shined with his happiness and with a start Sasuke realized that maybe Naruto really did feel exactly as he did. After all, the boy was an orphan as well.

When breakfast was finished and Sasuke had changed, he came back downstairs to see his older self waiting for him outside of the front door, changed as well. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm going to walk with you is all." He responded to his younger self's unasked question. "Arai, I'll be back!" He called inside. He got a loud 'okay' back.

The two walked in silence down the streets of Konoha. Sasuke found it fine to have his older self with him. After all, the man _was _him and understood the silence. But he broke it after a bit, wanting answers. "Why are you walking with me?"

The older man grunted slightly, amused that his younger self had broken the silence first. "I understand what you're thinking and I know it's lonely." With a start, Sasuke realized he was talking about the emotions that had run through him upon hearing that Arai was leaving. His older self looked down at him. "You're going to be lonely for a long time. I'm not going to lie to you."

Sasuke frowned, unhappy about hearing that. "But," the man went on to say, "that will change without a doubt. It'll feel like the darkness in your heart will go on forever, but you'll discover your light before you know it." He smiled down at him. "And you'll also discover that you haven't been as alone as you thought."

"Are you giving me advice?" Because quite honestly, that didn't really seem like it to him.

"You can say that. Just…" He sighed. He wasn't too good at this advice stuff. It was usually Naruto that did all of the encouraging ranting. "have faith in your friends." This time he looked his younger self straight in the eye. Sasuke faltered seeing such strong emotions in them. "Especially Naruto. Naruto…is important to me, after all."

Sasuke opened his mouth to ask what he meant, when the man pointed. They had arrived at where he had planned to meet up with Kakashi and was surprised to find the man early along with Kurenai and Asuma-sensei. Older Sasuke looked inside of the small dango shop sharply as he felt his older brother's chakra and was glad he had decided to keep his own hidden. His heart pounded upon feeling it, having forgotten how it had felt years ago. And from the looks of the Akatsuki cloaks, it was most definitely him. He decided not to stick around in case he got ahead of himself and with a nod to Kakashi, he disappeared.

* * *

"I'm leaving, Arai-chan!" Naruto called. Arai hopped downstairs with her backpack on.

"What? So early?" She pouted. "I thought you wanted to hang out more with me…" she grinned slyly, "and my dad."

Naruto turned a little pink. "Sh-shut up! Stop messing with me!"

"But it's true, isn't it? You looooove my dad!" She couldn't help teasing Naruto like this. The boy was absolutely adorable blushing (maybe she got that sadism from her father?) and stuttering. Truthfully, if she wasn't related to him and if he was from her time, she probably wouldn't mind dating him… Besides she couldn't tease her mom like this. He was too composed and completely at ease with his relationship to care. And also, it was just awkward teasing her mother.

"Arai-chan!" He whined to her, red in the face. "I don't love him! He's too much of a bastard to love!"

"Oh, really?" A voice behind him caused him to yelp and jump away from the door. Arai's father stood there smirking, thoroughly amused with the conversation the two had been having.

"Sa-sasuke! Eh heh," Naruto chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head, "you heard that, did you?"

"I did." Sasuke leaned down into Naruto's face, his smirk becoming positively evil. "So you don't love me, hm?"

"N…no…" Naruto murmured, looking away to hide his embarrassment. Arai nodded her head. Yup, she definitely inherited her father's sadism.

Sasuke stood up and ran his hand into Naruto's hair as he walked past him. "Dobe." He whispered fondly.

"Don't call me a dobe, bastard!" Naruto yelled back. Arai laughed at the scene. "Anyway, I'm gonna leave now."

"Where're you headed?" She asked, though she already had a feeling.

"Ichiraku's!"

"Hell yes! I'm coming with you!" She cheered and both high-fived each other. Sasuke stared at them incredulously.

"You two just had breakfast…"

"I need my morning ramen!" Naruto told him.

"And besides, I'm still hungry!" Arai added.

Sasuke sighed and placed his head in his hand. "Are you really my daughter? Damn it, you got your obsession with ramen from Naruto."

"Hey! It's good, dammit!" They two yelled in unison, sounding almost alike. "Let's go!" Arai said and the two charged out of the door.

"This is what happens when I leave Naruto to care for her as a child for one month while I went on a mission…" Sasuke muttered.

* * *

Both Uzumakis took large slurps of their bowls of ramen and sighed contently. "Ah, nothing's better than Ichiraku's ramen!" Naruto said.

Arai's face became conflicted and Naruto looked at her in confusion when she didn't immediately agree. She fidgeted. "Well, I still can't decide between Ichiraku's ramen and dad's homemade sushi platter." She became starry-eyed at the thought. "It's sooo gooood…"

Naruto frowned at her. "Traitor."

"Hey!"

"Oh, I heard this is where you go all the time. I guess it's true." A voice said from behind them. "You always come here for ramen."

"Ahh! It's Ero-sennin!" Naruto cried, his mouth full of ramen. Arai was silent as she watched the exchange, her playful mood gone. _So this is Ero-sennin that taught mom? _She thought. Naruto swallowed the ramen. "What are you doing here?"

"Come with me, Naruto. I wanna talk with you."

"Can I come?" Arai asked. Jiraiya looked at her and grinned slyly.

"Oh, your girlfriend, Naruto?"

"No." Both said immediately causing the man to blink.

"What a shame. She's pretty too. Anyway, let's go." Naruto frowned but nodded, placing down the money for both him and Arai after they finished their ramen before the two jumped off of their stools to follow him.

"So what's it that you want, Ero-sennin?" Naruto questioned.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, you brat?" The man growled at him. And I want you to go on work trip with me." Arai's eyes narrowed slightly. She had suspected correctly what the old man's intentions had been. She now had the job of convincing him to let her and her father travel with them. She felt happy. Soon, she and her father would go back and save her mother.

Naruto, however, wasn't as thrilled. "EHHHH?" He yelled, annoyed. "Why, why, why? Why do I have to go on a work trip with you? Why should I go? And what for?"

"Because it's a paid-for work trip. We're supposed to find a certain girl. It's also a 'special' trip. We'll stop by the red light district in Hima." Arai made a face, disgusted. "You will learn much more than what Kakashi-sensei taught you."

Naruto placed his arms behind his head, making a face at the thought. "I don't want to and I want Kakashi-sensei to teach me chidori. Nope…."

"And also this woman. She's hot! And she wants to meet you!"

Arai rolled her eyes. _Is this really the way he tries to convince mom? I hope he doesn't fall for it._

"You're trying to fool me, you Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled. "Whatever you say, I won't fall for it! I don't want to!"

Jiraiya shrugged and walked a little ahead of Naruto. "Ha…She knows techniques even more amazing than chidori. Did you know? But you're not coming. I guess I'll ask Sasuke accompany me instead…"

"ALRIGHT! LET'S GO!" Naruto cheered, pumped. "I'm going-I'm going to my house. I'm going to pack up my things! Ero-sennin, don't leave without me!" He yelled as he raced off.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Really…He's such a cute brat."

"He is, isn't he?" Arai commented casually to announce that her presence was still there. He looked at her in confusion, an eyebrow raised.

"You're still here?" He asked.

"Yup." She turned to him, completely serious. He frowned at the look, vaguely recognizing it but not able to place where. "Jiraiya-sama, may my father and I travel with you?" She decided that using the correct suffix would butter him up a little.

"Huh? Why's that?"

"You see, my father and I are also searching for Tsunade-sama. We desperately need to talk to her."

Now the man frowned. "How did you know who I was going to look for?"

_Shit! Caught!_ "Um…because everybody knows that you and her both are friends. And how you talked about her could only be her." She quickly said, to cover herself. His eyes narrowed. _Damn, he's suspicious._ She decided to use her feminine charms and puppy-dog pouted in a way that more-often-than-not gave her her way.

He hesitated a moment but finally said, "I don't care if you follow, but I'm not paying for anything."

Her eyes lit up and she jump-hugged him. "Thank you! This means so much to me!" She turned to race off as well to inform her dad, calling over her shoulder, "We'll meet you at the gate! And don't worry about us!"

Jiraiya watched her go with a confused frown. "Who the heck is that kid?" He wondered aloud.

* * *

About two hours later Jiraiya, Arai, her father, and Naruto all stood packed and ready at the gate. Naruto straightened from fixing his shoe and threw his fists up in the air in excitement. "LET'S GO!" He yelled. He then grabbed his giant backpack and grunted as he tried to move with it. The thing was as tall as him and about three times his size, though, and didn't budge. Sasuke sighed and slapped his forehead in exasperation at the boy's stupidity as Arai tried desperately not to laugh.

"Are you really serious about this…?" Jiraiya muttered. "You're bringing everything you have. Aren't we just going on a trip?" Finally, after some talking, the three convinced Naruto to go back and only pack essentials and then they started off.

Naruto blinked in surprise at seeing the Uchihas traveling with them. He had thought they had been there to see him off. "You're coming too, Arai-chan? Sa-Ryuu?" They both nodded. "How come?"

Arai looked at her father to make up something. "It's because the person who can make the cure for my wife is around the area you two are headed." He said.

Naruto turned serious. "Really?" Sasuke nodded. "Well, that's good. I'm glad you changed your mind about saving your wife, Ryuu." Jiraiya looked back and forth between them in questioningly.

Sasuke frowned, sensing the underlying warning in the boy's voice that nobody but him could've possibly picked up on. He smirked. So Naruto had been mad when he'd said that he was just going to let his wife die? How cute.

As he watched how Naruto and Jiraiya interacted, Sasuke felt a warm sensation within him. This man had been like a grandfather to Naruto and the boy always had praises (or not) in the future. He hadn't been around to see Naruto's life torn up at the loss of the old man's life, but he knew that he cared for him greatly. _Jiraiya-sama, I'm entrusting Naruto to your care._ He thought.

* * *

Unfortunately, Sasuke became slightly scared to leave Naruto in Jiraiya's care as they entered the city of Hima. They were headed straight for the red light district and quite he honestly feared leaving Naruto with the man. And also, he didn't really want Arai going into such a place at her age.

He hesitated while holding onto his daughter's arm at the large sign that proclaimed where they were at in bright colors. Naruto paused as well, giving them a confused look. "Aren't you guys coming?" Arai gazed nervously around, knowing why her father had stopped and also didn't feel any need to enter such a place.

Sasuke felt conflicted as he debated whether or not they should continue to follow them or to find a hotel in a…cleaner part of town. He knew that this was the town where Itachi would come to find Naruto, but he didn't want to be here for that. Or his daughter for that matter. Hopefully she didn't remember that particular story. As much as he wanted to see Itachi, he didn't want his emotions to get in the way.

But he didn't remember the hotel Naruto planned on staying at.

With a frown he muttered, "Arai, keep your head down," before leading her to catch up with Naruto and Jiraiya. Arai did as she was told willingly, but not before she saw some scantily dressed women that she'd rather have not seen. They would just stay long enough to find out which hotel the two were staying at and then he and Arai would find a place to stay elsewhere.

Jiraiya and even Naruto gazed around them hungrily, though in Naruto's case it was more fascination and just a bit of hunger. It was enough to annoy Sasuke, though. They entered a hotel finally and Naruto murmured, "What a strange town."

"I don't know about you two, but Naruto and I are staying here." Jiraiya said. Arai peeked around her and, deeming the place safe, looked up.

"No, we'll be staying elsewhere." Sasuke told them. But Naruto's and the old man's attentions were focused behind them as they both yelled, "AHHH!" With happily lustful faces. Sasuke glanced behind him to see a beautiful, long-haired brunette flip her hair. She wore a tube top dress that was a little _too_ short and she winked flirtatiously at them. Sasuke scowled and glared at Naruto, though the boy didn't notice. The jealous part of him flared up with a fury.

_Drooling over some woman when I'm right here-!_ He thought furiously and moved to do something about it when Arai grabbed his sleeve. She looked just as annoyed, but had a calmer tone as she said, "He's not the mom in love with you yet, dad." Sasuke's mood dropped dramatically and he buried his fiery anger, though it still burned.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya yelled, getting the boy's attention. "Here's your room key. Go up to your room and refine your chakra as training!" The man said in a rush as he handed Naruto the key.

"What? This is adult stuff! What are you telling me to do, Ero-sennin?" Naruto yelled back.

"Just take it and go!" With that the man ran off to begin flirting with the beauty.

"He-!" Naruto began but was cut off as Sasuke slapped a hand over his mouth.

"You heard the man." He growled, the aura around him dark and menacing as he glared down at the boy. Naruto shivered slightly. "Go up to your room."

Naruto cautiously removed his hand and asked, "What about you guys?"

Sasuke scowled and looked away. "We're going to find another hotel before my daughter becomes corrupted like _some_ idiots I know." He then grabbed Arai's arm and led her away, but not before she shot a 'shame on you' look over her shoulder at Naruto. Naruto frowned as he watched them go, stung.

* * *

**A/N: Heehee. A jealous Sasuke is a cute Sasuke. =v= It's times like these I wanna write what would happen if Arai hadn't stopped her father. :D No doubt that he would've taught Naruto _not _to look at anybody but him. **

**Hm...Adult!Sasuke and Kid!Naruto...Can anybody say pedophile? And speaking of pedophile, I typed out that whole Sasukewithhisdaughter'sunderwear scene before I even thought that one through. XD It's fun picturing that scene.**

And also although it's kind of annoying, it's also kind of cool to write the actual Naruto lines out and read the manga again. ^_^ It really refreshes the fangirl in me.

Btw, Sasuke's really fun to draw.

Feedback is really appreciated!


	16. Itachi

**A/N: Wow, it's been a long time, huh guys? Some of you may have actually given up on me. Actually, I was thinking of giving up and then I realized, "Well this story is already almost over. I only have, like, one more arc to go, so why don't I finish it?" So that's what I plan on doing. I _will_ finish this story. I've only taken so long because I was hit really hard with _Hetalia_ which kicked SasuNaru out of my all time favorite yaoi couple and replaced it with USUK, but that doesn't mean I don't still like it. SasuNaru will always hold my 'first ever yaoi pairing' in my heart.  
**

**But I digress. Here's the newest chapter after, like, forever.**

Arai sat in silence in front of her father in their room in a hotel that was in a separate part of the town in which Jiraiya and Naruto were staying in. She was, of course, happy that she didn't need to stay in such a questionable part of town, but she hated the atmosphere she was currently sitting in. In fact, she hated the situation she was in entirely. Her hands were tied together with a chain that was stuck quite firmly to a wall. She pouted, annoyed at her father sat watching her intensely and unblinkingly. She gazed back with just as much intensity and was trying her damndest to send the thought of, _This is totally unfair and I am gonna hate you and make you regret this for the rest of your life, _to his mind.

The whole reason she was in this situation was because her father had predicted that she wanted to meet her uncle Itachi and he had refused to let her. Naturally this triggered the inborn rebellious side she had inherited from her mother and she had tried to make a run for it, but it had been pointless when Sasuke had captured and thus left her in the current situation she was in. Sadly this was not the first time she had received this type of punishment.

She pouted more. "It's really awkward having you stare at me like this, dad."

Sasuke relaxed his posture ever so slightly as he shifted. Arai paid close attention to every one of his movements in case she found any openings. It was just a shame to have such a great ninja for a father at times like these. "I'm not taking my eyes off of you." His daughter sighed.

"One of us has to pee sometime." Arai threatened, crossing her legs. "Speaking of which, I actually need to go pretty badly."

"Hold it."

"Don't be so mean!" She cried. Sasuke smirked. Sadistic bastard. "Come on, I really have to go! I don't wanna pee my pants!"

"Do you realize just how old that trick is?" Sasuke asked her. "Naruto's tried to use that quite a few times." Nonetheless he stood up and walked over to unchain her but continued to have a good grip on her arm. Arai knew that her father had said that just to let her know he was onto her plan. He led her over to the bathroom and opened the door before releasing her arm.

She turned to look at him with a frown and crossed her arms. "I can't pee with you looking."

"Deal with it."

She flushed, embarrassed. "Are you some type of pervert, or something?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. Really, she took far too much after Naruto.

"Arai, I wiped your bottom when you were little far more than even Naruto did. There isn't much that I haven't already seen."

A strange screeching noise emitted from his daughter's mouth that was a mix between frustration, horror, and humiliation. "Don't say things like that! That's disgusting!" She shook the thought of it out of her head and decided to stop playing games. "Why can't I go to see uncle Itachi, dad?" She demanded.

Sasuke's eyes turned steely, causing Arai to realize that this was going to be much harder than it had previously seemed. "You just can't."

"Why, though?"

"Because…" He sighed and ran a hand into his hair. "Arai, I killed Itachi a long time ago." He told her. Arai already knew that. She had known that for a long time and she understood the reason why her father was telling her this now. He had always regretted killing Itachi and wished every day that he could take it back.

"I know, dad. But that's why I want to meet him. I want to see what my dad's great older brother was like." She said softly.

Sasuke shook his head and glared. "You're not allowed to see him! You are to stay here until after that whole situation is over and we move on to the next village!" Arai bristled at his tone, her rebellious side kicking in again; when it suddenly occurred to her why her father wanted her to stay there so badly. It was not to stop her from meeting Itachi; it was to stop himself from meeting his brother again. Her father was obviously sorely tempted to run over to see his brother again after so many years –so many years of regret and misery because of his own stupidity in his teen years. She fell short and closed her eyes sadly. She understood now.

But that wasn't going to stop her.

"Sorry, dad." She said and quickly summoned multiple clones while her father was temporarily distracted.

"Ara-" Her father called, angered as he was jumped and Arai moved quickly to use the move her mother had taught her not long ago: her grandfather's Yellow Flash technique. She had posted a seal not too far from the hotel that she had planned to use because she knew a similar situation like this was going to occur. In an instant she was outside and already on the move towards Naruto's hotel. She would not have long before her father would be hot on her trail and no doubt bringing Hell's fire with him.

She didn't plan on being seen. She just wanted to see Itachi once in real life and see how the battle scene would play out. She knew that Sasuke would appear and try and fail to fight his older brother. He knew that Naruto would be left helpless. She knew that her uncle would be playing the bad guy. She also knew that she could in no way change the course in this battle: it was the trigger point that would set the near-to-come future. But even knowing this, she just had to be there to see the events unfold.

Unfortunately, this was not the situation she had meant to walk into.

Arai had tried to be sneaky and only peek around the hallway's wall to watch the scene while masking her chakra. But she hadn't accounted for becoming completely lost in the hotel and having no idea where Naruto's room even was. And it had been too late to go and ask the man at the front desk. So she searched around, following the spike of Sasuke's chakra that she had picked up, and eventually found herself in the new troublesome situation she was currently in.

She was lucky that nobody had seemed to notice her, though. She watched as younger Sasuke –with a look of hatred Arai had not seen in a very long time- screamed at his at a group of two unknown men and Naruto, a chidori forming in his hand. She shuddered and instinctively shrank back in fear. Nobody could stand up while seeing their parent so angry, even if it wasn't directed towards them.

The two men were of different sizes, the shorter of the two with long black hair and the taller one with dark blue hair and light blue skin. Both were cloaks of what Arai already guessed was the Akatsuki. _The shorter of the two, _Arai inferred, _must be uncle Itachi._ Uchihas don't have blue skin. Sasuke charged at Itachi with his chidori screaming with the same fury as its user. In a sudden movement, Itachi caught Sasuke's arm and moved the attack to the side, causing it to blow a gaping hole through several layers of wall. Naruto then unfroze from where he had been standing and formed the hand sign to help him concentrate and began to focus Kyuubi's chakra within him. Arai gasped and dug her nails into her arm in order to maintain her control over herself. She felt the Kyuubi chakra within her boiling in response. There was a loud snap and a scream from Sasuke, but her mind didn't process what had happened. And then in a single swipe of his massive sword, the taller Akatsuki stopped the Kyuubi chakra.

"Crap! Crap! What's going on?" Naruto cried, trying to summon more chakra but was seemingly unable to.

"My 'Samehada'," the blue guy said, "eats up chakra!" The sword made strange noises as he said this, as if the thing really was eating. Arai shivered at the sound. But why did that sword look familiar to her…? "Now that your jutsu's gone, you shouldn't be anymore trouble… First of all, should I chop off a leg or an arm…?" The way he said it was almost like he wasn't even asking. He swung his sword down towards Naruto. Sasuke was seemingly out of commission at the moment and Arai barely restrained herself from jumping in to save Naruto, her hand on her katana.

Luckily she wasn't needed as a large, armored toad appeared in front of Naruto and guarded him from the attack with his arms and Jiraiya appeared behind Naruto. In his arms, unconscious, was the woman Arai's father had become jealous of earlier.

"I, Jiraiya, this epitome of manliness! I will fall for no women's feminine wiles! When you're someone like me, you'll only have to flash that sexiness to have women to fall at your feet!" The old man yelled. There was a brief moment of disbelief that every person simultaneously shared in the room. It was quite an amazing thing, actually.

And then Naruto broke the silence by yelling angrily, "Oh yeah? That girl just winked at ya and you were scampering off after her! And now you're trying to look cool and classy –you perverted sennin!"

"Hey! Can't you stop calling me that in front of others?" Jiraiya grumbled.

"Screw that! It's those guys over there that we should be worrying about, pervy sennin!" Naruto yelled back. The tension in the atmosphere was officially cut. Arai couldn't believe this old man. How was it that he managed to train Naruto so well? Apparently her mother wasn't kidding when he said that Jiraiya was a freak.

"So you really _are_ after Naruto." Jiraiya said, all joking put aside. He was completely serious now. Arai had missed a part of the conversation.

"No wonder Kakashi knew about this. _You _were the source of his information." Itachi stated. Jiraiya didn't respond. "'To abduct Naruto'…Those were the orders given to us by the higher-ups of our organization 'Akatsuki'." There was a tense moment of silence in which nobody moved. The toad that had been guarding Naruto disappeared.

A presence appeared behind Arai and covered her mouth before she could make a movement or gasp. The person didn't say anything, but Arai knew who it was anyway. She could practically feel the anger that her father emitted, but it was gone in an instant as he gazed upon the scene he had entered. She glanced up at him. Her father was staring at Itachi intensely, his body stiff. There was an emotion in his eyes that she couldn't quite name but appeared to be between a mix of awe and regret.

It appeared that none of the group noticed their presence as Jiraiya said, "You won't get Naruto."

"And why not?" Itachi asked. Arai's father tensed again.

"Because right here, right now, you two will die by my hand."

"Don't do it." A voice interrupted the two. Arai watched as younger Sasuke climbed shakily to his feet, cradling his arm. Arai understood now that the crack from earlier had been the boy's arm. "This guy…is mine!" He gasped.

Itachi glanced at his little brother emotionlessly. "…I have absolutely no interest in you right now." The next moment he kicked the boy ruthlessly and sent him into the adjacent wall.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried and then immediately became angry, "You assholes-!" He began to charge but Sasuke yelled out,

"NARUTO! I told you…DON'T!" The Uchiha was trembling and blood was coming from his mouth. He looked terrible, but there was still the fire of hatred burning in his eyes. "This fight is mine!"

"What a fool I was…" Arai heard her father whisper under his breath.

Itachi approached the boy. Sasuke yelled out furiously, "COME ON!" to which Itachi responded with a solid punch to the boy's stomach that made Arai jump and another blow to the back of his head and chin. The weak Uchiha was beaten down with no mercy and then held against the wall by his neck in a choker hold. Arai trembled from her need to help. Only her father's arms kept her from interrupting. The man had a straight, grim face on as he watched.

The next moment Sasuke was screaming as if he was being tortured and Arai shrank back in fear against her father, knowing that that was exactly what was happening. She herself had never had Mangekyo used on her nor had she ever used it, but she knew what it was and what it could do. Her father refused to explain it but simply said it was a torture method. But then the screaming suddenly stopped and Sasuke went limp in his brother's hold.

"That's enough." Arai's father whispered to her. "Let's leave." Arai didn't struggle as she was led down another hall as noises of fighting ensued. Suddenly the floor and walls around them were replaced with a flesh-like substance that had them both on guard. The next second two figures rushed past them and allowed Arai to look her uncle in the face for the first time.

It was as if time was moving slower for them in that moment. Itachi's eyes, as he gazed at the two of them, met first Arai's and then her father's before widening just the slightest. Sasuke met the man's gaze and knew that his brother knew who he was. In that single moment so many things were left unsaid that were on the tip of Sasuke's tongue to say, but he didn't have enough time to say. Instead he whispered, "I'm sorry." Itachi said nothing but there was an understanding that passed in his eyes. For the first time in a long time –and for the final time- Sasuke saw the caring eyes his brother had when the two of them had been children.

And then the moment was over and Itachi and his partner were out of sight. After another few seconds, Jiraiya and Naruto came rushing out. "Arai-chan?" Naruto asked and stumbled to a stop in surprise as Jiraiya continued past them. "Sasuke, what are you two doing here?" Sasuke didn't respond, still gazing glassy-eyed at the place where Itachi had disappeared. Arai spoke up, her voice quiet in awe of everything she had witnessed.

"I wanted to see what was happening. Go find Jiraiya. Now." Naruto blinked at her strange tone but did as he was told as he ran to where his teacher was. She looked at her father. The two of them didn't say anything as she grabbed his hand gently and walked with him over to where Naruto was. Jiraiya wasn't putting some type of sealing on the black flames Arai recognized as Amaterasu.

"Alright, well is everyone okay after that?" Jiraiya asked after he sealed the scroll and stuffed it away. "Sasuke?"

Naruto jumped as he remembered and ran over to where the younger Sasuke was implanted in the fleshy wall, unconscious. His eyes were dull as he stared into nothingness. "Sasuke!" Naruto cried. With a stomp of the Toad Sage the fleshy walls disappeared and older Sasuke helped Naruto lower his younger self to the floor. Naruto turned to Arai. "Arai-chan, can you heal him?"

"Is she a medical ninja?" Jiraiya questioned. Arai nodded and reached forward to heal Sasuke, but her father stopped her. Nobody had time to question his actions as a kunai flew past them and implanted itself in the wall, distracting them.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" A voice yelled and the next moment a flying green blur kicked Jiraiya right in the nose. Arai recognized Rock Lee's teacher Might Gai.

It took a little bit to get things cleared up as Gai explained himself. Jiraiya then stated that Sasuke needed to get to a hospital. "Pervy Sage, will Sasuke be okay?" Naruto asked.

"He took a tolerable amount of mental damage." Jiraiya said. Naruto trembled with fury.

"Dad, why won't you just let me heal him?" Arai whispered to her father as the two stood off to the side by themselves.

"This is to motivate Naruto to find Tsunade-sama." Her father stated, watching his younger self.

"But it's my duty…" She murmured without hope of convincing him.

"Medical care specialists should be around in case this should continue to happen, don't you think?" Gai was saying.

"What about Arai-chan?" Naruto asked and turned to the girl, making her jump. Gai and Jiraiya finally realized that there were other people still here. "Arai-chan, you're a medical ninja! Can you heal Sasuke?"

Arai felt terrible for not only not helping a person in need, but also now lying to Naruto. "I can't. Sorry. I'm not that good yet." She looked away as Naruto's face dropped. Jiraiya watched her.

"Well then, I guess we're going to find Princess Tsunade just like you said." He told her.

Gai soon left carrying Sasuke back to Konoha but not without leaving Naruto with one of the spandex suits that Gai and Lee always wore. Naruto was ecstatic. Older Sasuke was not. As soon as Gai was out of sight, he snatched the spandex right from Naruto's hands.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "Give that back! Where are you going with it?"

"I'm going to burn this as soon as possible." Sasuke muttered. Arai laughed, agreeing with his choice. Jiraiya seemed to approve as well. Naruto was not happy.

Soon the four of them were on their way down the path needed to go to the next village in silence. That silence was soon broken by Jiraiya who asked, "So you're a medical ninja, Arai?"

"Oh, um, yes." She said, caught off-guard by the sudden question.

"You're a little young to know such ninjutsu."

Arai wondered where he was going with this. "She's a genius." Sasuke stated. Jiraiya studied him. Arai knew that the man was suspicious of them.

"Why don't you two tell me who you really are." He stated.

The four stopped. Naruto looked a little nervous, but Arai and Sasuke kept calm. "What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Why did you two show up at such a scene and not help out at all despite being Konoha ninjas?" Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "Unless you're not-"

"No, we really are!" Arai waved her arms back and forth. "Honestly!"

"Yeah! Arai-chan's my student-teacher and Ryuu is her father!" Naruto vouched.

"Eh? Student-teacher?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Jiraiya-sama," Sasuke interrupted, "we're sorry to seem so suspicious, but until we find Tsunade-sama we can't explain our reason for being here."

"Why not?" Jiraiya questioned.

"Because we're going to explain it to her anyway, so you might as well hear it at the same time." Arai shrugged.

"I can promise you that we will not be any trouble." Sasuke agreed. Jiraiya didn't look too happy, but he gave in and the four set off again.

**A/N: Anybody who actually guesses correctly on why Arai might have seen Samehada before gets 100 points and a free double chunk chocolate cookie.**


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